Popular music performances on contemporary television remain relatively rare. Soundtracks abound, but spaces to see an artist perform are usually limited to the tail-end of talk shows or morning programmes. Therefore, the development of the Idols franchise in individual territories across the world was an opportunity that broadcasters and local music outlets seized – and audiences loved and hated the results. In this volume, editors Koos Zwaan and Joost de Bruin ensure a good mixture of Idols narratives and approaches, including the provision of a helpful appendix of the territories that have taken up the popular music programme (pp. 223–4). Their Introduction demonstrates the longer history of popular music's public (competitive) performance, including older forms, as well as some short, sharp context for readers wanting to jump right in. De Bruin and Zwaan suggest that that ‘the goal of Idols shows is involve a nation (or a region consisting of several nations) in a quest for a popular music idol who can be admired by all’ (p. 1) – a definition that nails the appeal, and infamy, of the format. The impossible task of attempting to appeal to ‘all’ is something that popular music studies has tackled over much of its history, with this collection seeking to add nuance to existing commentaries by showing how Idols works by ‘always adapted to local culture’ (p. 2; emphasis in original).

It is unsurprising that national identity is a through thread for the collected essays, and it is refreshing to have national identity and popular music considered across national borders as well as being part of individual case studies. The opening section contains five chapters seeking to directly compare versions of the programme in different national contexts, including interviews with Idols’ international production company, Freemantle Media, by Singh and Kretschmer. The chapter provides detail about the process of creating a reliably similar (and therefore, predictably successful) programme in different regions, a balancing act that is especially revealed in the notes about production (pp. 17–19). In short, Idols programmes may appear easily to replicate, but they require significant technical, strategic and legal expertise. Interestingly, the emphasis is on ‘managing the brand’ (p. 21) of Idols across territories rather than of the management of musicians or audiences – with the former being something that seems to be noticeably absent here, and often throughout the book. Popular music drives the Idols franchising, but the music is only a relatively small part of the machine itself.

The place of music and musicians, rather than contestants for a television competition, needs to be emphasised to such a degree that Carah's chapter is titled ‘Are You a Musician?’ Drawing on an episode of Australian Idol where a judge provoked a contestant by asking a series of questions – ‘Are you a musician? … What does that mean … Playing covers?’ (pp. 170–2) – the chapter reminds the reader that a relationship to music in Idols is not necessarily an agreed-upon position. Later in the volume Tingstad examines the franchise from an audience perspective, particularly those who watched Norwegian Idol to develop their own off-screen culture of participation rather than one that directly engages with the ‘official’ methods of engagement like the formal voting system. Tingstad's reminder of other types of engagement with the show, ‘flow [that] happens in peer groups, between different age groups, between family members and in different kinds of media’ (p. 204) shows how the audience continues to engage in ways that suit them rather than necessarily using the avenues that the franchise recommends or promotes. This type of unauthorised or alternative participation gets taken further again with Reijnders, Rooijakkers and van Zoonen's piece on young Dutch audiences' creation of alternative Idols as part of community, school and alternative festival events. Writing about alternative and often only live rather than broadcast events, the authors argue, ‘parody, satire and humour bring the [Idols] show closer to the audience’ (p. 213).

Adapting Idols also offers chapters that work well as isolated pieces as well as in a collection. Conner's piece on Nigerian Idol is an accessible and illuminating view into a television and music market seldom considered by Anglo-American and Eurocentric popular music studies. Ghattas' piece on the pan-Arab version of Idols, Superstar, is also engaging. Ghattas' emphasis on politics in the context of the franchise localisation, starting with the ‘Idol’ name and working on (pp. 126–7), would serve as a useful way to challenge assumptions of universality in further academic and classroom discussions. Similarly, Deller's comparative work on displays of gendered performances in Pop Idol, American Idol and The X Factor challenges constructions and representations in and beyond the initial broadcast context. Her challenge to discourses of gender and sexuality that are apparently suitable for some, but not others, would provide strong launching pads for further research about similar types of popular music and media engagement. Deller's observation of the relative lack of female homosexuality displayed on the show (pp. 189–92) reminds viewers and readers to challenge how relative marginal identities are considered. Apart from anything else, her acknowledgement of ‘the limited marketability of lesbian performers’ (p. 187) provokes further questioning – is this ‘given’ creating a chicken and egg type scenario that denies potential artists the chance to be discovered and to create an audience in the first place?

Zwaan and ter Bogt's exploration of the motivation and preparation of Dutch Idols participants sits somewhere between artist and audience studies. They consider what types of individuals are likely to be attracted to the programme as a way to ‘get into the industry’ and what characteristics are likely to help them succeed. Interestingly, the authors identify unlikely traits like ‘high levels of insecurity’ as important (p. 163), something that expands more generic studies of popular music participations. They conclude, ‘although the possibility of instant fame is a very tempting feature of the Idols competition … success demands hard work’ (p. 165); a point that is easy to overlook when arguments over the larger cultural industry machine may otherwise dominate.