Editorial Review
Stories from Idols and Their Fans for Everyone Who Believes in a Dream. . .
With stories from Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken,
Jordin Sparks, Ruben Studdard,
Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis, Sanjaya Malakar,
and many other top Idols from every season!
Do you love the thrill of seeing people's dreams come true? Do you enjoy the excitement of rooting for your favorite contestant ? Has your spirit ever soared from watching a performance on American Idol ? For anyone who has watched America 's best loved television show, here's a collection of captivating stories that take you into the hearts, minds and souls of the Idols, the fans, and the team that makes the show possible.
These are the stories the television cameras don't see—true, uplifting, and entertaining tales told with humor and candor that will leave you laughing, crying, and feeling inspired, whether you are a die-hard Idol watcher or an occasional fan . Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul is the perfect marriage of the #1 show in television history and the #1 non-fiction book series in publishing history—both dedicated to celebrating the triumph of spirit over adversity, the fulfillment of dreams coming true, and the power of love.
In Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul , those closest to the heart of American Idol — from the executive producers to the stylists, from the fans to the judges, from the top finalists to the behind-the-scenes crew —share their moving stories of obstacles overcome, love and support shared, lessons learned and lives touched and changed forever. This is truly the stuff that dreams are made of—and why almost 60 million people faithfully tune in week after week, year after year.
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Customer Reviews
very good inspirational stories 
2008-02-23
"Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul" is part of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. This one is for American Idol fans. It has stories written by former Idol contestants, the Idol staff (producers, behind-the-scenes crew, etc.), and some Idol fans. If you enjoy Idol and/or inspirational stories, this book is worth reading.
If You Are An Idol Fan, You May Want To Pick Up A Copy 
2008-02-22
Now in its seventh year, American Idol is the number one television show attracting each week millions of viewers. And every year there are thousands of hopefuls vying for a chance at stardom. Who are these performers?
Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul, which is the number one best-selling non-fiction series in publishing history, has teamed up with American Idol to satisfy our curiosity.
As mentioned in Paula Abdul's Foreword of Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul "there is more to the marriage than just merging of two great twenty-first century tours de force. The stories in Chicken Soup books are all about overcoming odds and going through adversity while staying true to yourself." These are the stories that are reflected in Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul that will give us a better idea of just whom the show attracts and in many cases the adversity and obstacles the participants had to overcome in order to stand before the judges.
Divided into eight sections, the book focuses on different themes all involving in one way or another a participant, a behind-the-scenes player or a fan. The themes deal with topics as the dream coming true, the power of those we love, stories of overcoming obstacles, stories of idols touched by others, stories of fans touched by idols, stories of staying true to yourself, and friends who have helped idols.
Among the household names we read about are Melinda Doolittle, Kimberly Locke, Blake Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aitken, Jordin Sparks, Jim Verraros, Chris Sligh, Phil Stacey, John Stevens, Ace Young, Mandisa, Vonzell Solomon and many more. Each one recounting where they came from, how it felt to be chosen, and then to realize a dream of becoming a top ten Idol.
An entire section is devoted to a look behind-the-scenes crew where we are introduced to such players as makeup artist, Mezhgan Hussainy, vocal coach and arranger Debra Byrd, stage manager Debra Williams, director Bruce Gowers, hairsylist Dean Banowetz, music director Rickey Minor and several others.
Although I found many of the stories interesting, I did find at times that there was a great deal of repetition and a lack of substance leaving the reader with the sense of ennui one might expect reading boring biographies of some well-known personalities.
It is nice to hear about how some of the participants overcame various hurdles, however, the cursory treatments leave out in most instances what happened to them after they were disqualified? And how about the judges, there was "nada." It would have been interesting to find out more about Simon, Randy and Paula and perhaps even some of their trade secrets?
Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures
LOVED the book!!!! 2008-01-01
Finished reading the book a couple of weeks ago and I have passed it on to my sister. I am a HUGE Clay Aiken fan, and bought the book mostly because I wanted to read about him. But, I really enjoyed all of the other Idol stories as well. I hope that a second book is written that has even more stories of the Idols in it that weren't in this one. Would highly recommend it for any American Idol fan!!
I couldn't put it down - Inspirational!!! 2007-12-31
Wow! I just couldn't put this book down! Each story inspired me and gave me fuel to keep going for the dreams I have in my life. I needed a little reminder to keep the faith, because I was feeling a little down. I'm waiting to hear about a job I am hoping to get. Reading CHICKEN SOUP for the AMERICAN IDOL SOUL gave me the nurturing I needed to have faith and keep going, no matter what. That's how dreams are realized. The stories were chicken soup for my soul. They warmed me and helped me get over the emotional flu of doubts. Highly recommended!!!
Chichen Soup for the American Idol Soul 2007-12-30
This is a fun book. Very moving and inspiring. The authors did an excellent job of bringing all the stories together. Very readable.
Great Book 2008-05-29
This is the best book ever because it tells the stories of real people that went on American Idol like Jordan Sparks! Also, it tells all the good and bad things they had to go through to get on the show. In one of the people's story, it said that both parents were deaf and whenever that person sang in front of people the parents only saw how excited they were for that person. That is how they could tell she was good. Some stories are so sad that they will actually make you cry, I did. Also, I think this book is cool because it's all true.
loved this book!!! 2008-05-27
My friend and I traded books and I couldn't put this one down!!! I have never seen American Idol and Chicken Soup for the American Idol soul helped me learn a little bit about it. I was inspired by each story to do my very best, even after I fail. Some of the people in this book failed several times before they finally made it past even one round or became an Idol. If you fail you can sulk around for like the next month or you can get back up on your feet and try again like some of the Idols did. So I learned to try until you succeed even though I've heard this like 5 millon times this really hit home.
Still remembers the original purity of the show 
2008-05-11
Y'know, while I like to occassionally read from the random Chicken Soup book, I must admit it's been awhile. This book was simply a result of a cheap price and my less-than-a-year fandom of American Idol. Goodness knows I did not expect to see the two combined. But apparently millions of people consider the show to be the return of the classic American Dream, and I can see why via this great collection of stories from all human sectors of Idol. And yes, the stories were interesting to read. While some fans left me wondering if they were truly touched or just ridiculously obsessed, there were more than a few stories that brought tears to my eyes. I also liked the assortment: Idols, stage staff, fans, everyone. I had no idea how much this show affected people! This book will be appreciated by all American Idol fans.
Loved It 2008-04-08
When I tell people I read this book I can see them begin to cringe. One friend went so far as to call the Chicken Soup Series useless dreck. I haven't read other Chicken Soup titles but I remember my mother reading the original and being so moved she tried to get me to read it. I was a teeanager then and didn't care much about it. I only bought this book because I consume all things American Idol these days. I must say that this book truly moved and inspired me. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to see the good side of human nature and are tired of those stories that leave you feeling hopeless in the redemption of the human spirit.
Cant put it down. 2008-04-06
i think ive finally realized why im such a huge fan of Idol. its almost like an escape from reality, even though they call it a "reality show". people dont think about hardships in thier life when they tune into watch Idol, but they think about the contestants pursuing thier dreams and hoping one day we all could be like them, one way or another. or atleast, thats how i view the show. ill admit i hate reading, but i honestly cant put this book down. any idol fan, whether you hardly watch or cant wait until the next episode should pick up a copy of this book. even if you dont watch Idol you should because it could certainly convert you into a watcher. the only reason i bought this book was because of the american idol aspect, but im definetly planing on reading more chicken soup books once i finish this one. this book is very inspriational, and just like idol, is an escape from reality and hardship to help you 'think big and dream big, because the impossible is always possible'.
