I'm not entirely sure if this could be done, but I'll throw it out there anyway. What would you guys think of having an American Idol All-Star Edition Survival Game? Somehow 24 contestants would be chosen, and then it would be a simple +/-- game until we get to a winner

I'm up for it. How do you want to choose the contestants, though? Randomly or on a themed basis?

I'm not sure. I was thinking about the winners and runners-up for sure, but then we'd have Justin, Ruben, Fantasia...YMMV on those, but you get my drift.

24 contestants - 7 seasons. It wouldn't end up equally represented even if we wanted it to. What do you think about doing the Top 2 of each season, for starters, and we'll figure out the rest when it comes to that point?

What kind of themed basis?

Well, here's just an idea to throw out there...a different way of approaching "All Stars" than just looking at what place they finished in. You could base it on the WhatNottoSing.com approval ratings. Not an exact science, but a nice reflection of general contentment with contestants nontheless. According to WNTS, the contestants with the three highest average performance ratings for each season are:

S1: Kelly Clarkson, Tamyra Gray, Christina Christian
S2: Clay Aiken, Trenyce, Kimberely Locke
S3: LaToya London, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson
S4: Bo Bice, Nadia Turner, Carrie Underwood
S5: Mandisa, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry
S6: Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks, Stephanie Edwards
S7: David Cook, Michael Johns, Carly Smithson

That's 21 contestants. Throw in any combination of: Taylor, Blake, Ruben, David Archuleta, Jason, etc. and you have a pretty decent crop of contestants. Personally, I'd throw in all five: three as additions and then knock out Stephanie Edwards and Christina Christian for the other two.

Anyway, just an idea, though I did have fun making this post. Heh. :-)

I like that, There There!

Brilliant, There There!! That list includes some of my all time favorite contestants. I would also be happy with almost anyone winning!

I think you have to include the winners of each Season. Are you considering what the various contestants have done since their season ended? I'd replace Christina Christian with Justin Guarini, but I like Justin so I'm biased there. I might also include Diana DeGarmo and Bucky Covington. Not sure about Nadia from Season 4 & Stephanie from Season 6, they both seem really weak in contrast to the rest of the field.

*looks over the list* Not the exact list I would have, but that's the fun of group games. Overall, it's a great list, There There. Are those an official 21, or do we want to change it up before picking another three?

Thanks everybody! I agree with Jumelle. I'd go with those 21, plus Taylor and Ruben, who are the only two winners who didn't rank in the top three of their season. Then you have 23 contestants and all 7 winners are included, which is a fair way to do it.

Alright well first of all, I doubt an “All Stars” Edition would include any winners since a – it would ruin their reputation and b – they can’t be bothered because they probably have a booked schedule.

So here’s a list of possible contestants based on ‘returnability’ and who well they did during their particular season. 20 contestants were picked, with 3 from each season (with the exception of season 5 otherwise it would be 21 and that just isn’t a nice number) and 4 were randomly selected from a draw.

S1: Justin Guarini, Christina Christian, Nikki McKibbon
S2: Clay Aiken, Trenyce, Kimberley Locke
S3: Diana DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias, Jon Peter Lewis
S4: Jessica Sierra, Scott Savol, Vonzell Soloman
S5: Elliot Yammin, Kellie Pickler
S6: Blake Lewis, Melinda Doolittle, Chris Richardson
S7: David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado, Brooke White

Wildcards (Random Choice): Kristy Lee Cook, Kimberly Caldwell, Mikalah Gordon, Leah LaBelle

The 24 Contestants were then split into two groups of twelve with each week two of the contestants from each group being eliminated.

Group One: Nikki, Clay, Vonzell, Kellie, Blake, Syesha, Mikalah, Kim Locke, Christina, Kristy, Chris, Jon Peter

Group Two: Justin, Trenyce, Diana, Jessica, Scott, Elliot, Melinda, David, Brooke, Leah, Kim Caldwell, Jasmine

Top 24
Group One
Eliminated: Blake Lewis
Eliminated: Kellie Pickler

Group Two
Eliminated: Justin Guarini
Eliminated: Melinda Doolittle

Commentary: Neither Blake Lewis nor Kellie Pickler managed to stand out in Group One and were eliminated. No surprise, people lost interest in Justin since Season One and he got the boot. Melinda Doolittle was shockingly voted out – well not really. She chose her usual unusual songs, but she was so Season 5. David Archuleta bumped her off the rack with his choice of arm clutching, don’t litter the earth type of songs.

Top 20
Group One
Eliminated: Jon Peter Lewis
Eliminated: Mikalah Gordon

Group Two
Eliminated: Scott Savol
Eliminated: Leah LaBelle

Top 16
Group One
Eliminated: Nikki McKibbon
Eliminated: Christina Christian

Group Two
Eliminated: Jasmine Trias
Eliminated: Kimberly Caldwell

Commentary: Nikki saw it coming from Season One and Christina got sick all over again and didn’t appear at her elimination. Jasmine and Kimberly got booted because they wouldn’t re-enact the fight Kimberly and Julia had in Season 2.

Top 12: Clay, Vonzell, Syesha, Kim Locke, Kristy, Chris, Trenyce, Diana, Jessica, Elliot, David, Brooke

Yay! Top 12. Here’s what will probably happen to these poor contestants.

Top 12
Bottom 3: Syesha, Kristy, Chris
Bottom 2: Kristy, Chris
Eliminated: Chris Richardson

Commentary: The Bottom 3 did a mediocre job. Everyone expects Kristy to leave – and as usual she’s safe, leaving Chris to get teary eyed when Ryan announces he is getting eliminated.

Top 11
Bottom 3: Brooke, Kristy, Jessica
Bottom 2: Brooke, Kristy
Eliminated: Brooke White

Commentary: Kristy decides to pay Brooke back for eliminating her when they were in the Bottom 2 together in the Top 7 during Season 7 by lassoing her so she’d fall over and get booted.

Top 10
Bottom 3: Trenyce, Vonzell, Syesha
Bottom 2: Vonzell, Syesha
Eliminated: Vonzell Soloman

Commentary: The Votes are split amongst the three popular African American girls and Vonzell got the lowest. With a banshee like shriek, Syesha runs around screaming that she’s not eliminated this week.

Top 9
Bottom 3: Kristy, Trenyce, Elliot
Bottom 2: Kristy, Elliot
Eliminated: Elliot Yammin

Top 8
Bottom 3: Syesha, Kim Locke, Trenyce
Bottom 2: Syesha, Trenyce
Eliminated: Syesha Mercado

Commentary: Again, the three African American women get a split vote. Syesha is booted.

Top 7
Bottom 3: Jessica, Trenyce, Kristy
Bottom 2: Jessica, Kristy
Eliminated: Jessica Sierra

Commentary: Amazingly, Kristy is not eliminated yet again leaving Jessica Sierra to go back to her porn job.

Top 6
Bottom 3: Kristy, Kim Locke, Trenyce
Bottom 2: Kristy, Trenyce
Eliminated: Trenyce

Top 5
Bottom 2: Diana, Kristy
Eliminated: Diana DeGarmo

Top 4
Bottom 2: Kristy, Kim Locke
Eliminated: Kristy Lee Cook

Commentary: After weeks and weeks of getting other people eliminated. KLC is finally eliminated – she can’t pull a fast one on Kim Locke.

Top 3
Eliminated: Kimberley Locke

Finale
Winner: Clay Aiken
Runner Up: David Archuleta

Commentary: These two are just meant for the finale. They like each other so much that they’d probably end up being a couple after the show.

Well that's my "All Star" Version of Idol. "-"v

Interesting scenario, DevilExile. But, basing possible contestants on "returnabilty", that would leave out quite a few of the ones you've included. Some are still actively touring, Diana is doing another Broadway show, Caldwell is TV hosting, etc.

Good point Jumelle. But I guess I based it on the winners not returning and the REALLY successful Idols not returning. I means winners not returning leaves it fair and open. I don't think it would be fair to have winners pit against one another and I also think it could ruin careers really badly. Tamyra would have been included but she's Boston Legalling and do I really need to mention why for Jennifer Hudson? I also chose not only talent wise, cause that would be unfair for a lot of contestants. I think it's an all rounded selection.