Idol
Encyclopedia
An idol is an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed or any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.
More specific terms include:
Worship
Entertainment
Other
More specific terms include:
Worship
- Cult imageCult imageIn the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
, a religion-neutral term for a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents - IdolatryIdolatryIdolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
, a term used in monotheismMonotheismMonotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
for the worship of cult images, termed idols, perhaps tending towards iconoclasmIconoclasmIconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
, the destruction of images - MurtiMurtiIn Hinduism, a murti , or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image which expresses a Divine Spirit . Meaning literally "embodiment", a murti is a representation of a divinity, made usually of stone, wood, or metal, which serves as a means through which a divinity may be worshiped...
, a point of focus for devotion or meditation in Hindu and Buddhist religion (not always man-made)
Entertainment
- Idol seriesIdol seriesThe British talent search television series Pop Idol has spawned spin-offs in 42 territories, in what is now referred to as the "Idols" format, as described by FremantleMedia...
, one of several television shows that give formerly unknown persons an opportunity to become stars. The Idol series began in the United KingdomPop IdolPop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
and has since spread around the world - AustraliaAustralian IdolAustralian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
, SingaporeSingapore IdolSingapore Idol is a television show on Channel 5 of MediaCorp TV. It is a competition among undiscovered singers in Singapore. Like others in the Idol series, it is modelled after Pop Idol. The current judges are singer/songwriter Dick Lee and record producers Florence Lian and Ken Lim. Previous...
, CanadaCanadian IdolCanadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
, FranceNouvelle StarNouvelle Star is a French television series based on the popular Pop Idol programme produced by FremantleMedia and broadcast by M6 in France....
, GermanyDeutschland sucht den SuperStarDeutschland sucht den Superstar is a German reality talent show, also commonly known by its initials DSDS. Part of the Idol franchise, it was created by English media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between the years of 2001 and...
, IndiaIndian IdolIndian Idol is an adaptation of the Pop Idol format. It started airing in India with the first season in 2004-2005 and followed that with second , third and fourth seasons...
, the United StatesAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, DenmarkIdols (Denmark TV series)Idols: Ærlig Jagt. Ægte Talent. is the Danish version of the worldwide TV format Pop Idol which is broadcast on TV3 Danmark.-Season one:In mid 2003, auditions were held in Aarhus & Copenhagen...
, NorwayIdol (Norway)Idol: Jakten på en superstjerne is a television show on the Norwegian television channel TV 2, based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show describes itself as a "Search For A SuperStar". The contestants are first narrowed down to 100 contestants, and then down to 24-50 through several...
, the NetherlandsIdols (Netherlands)Idols is a television show on the Dutch television network RTL 4, which is part of the Idol series based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in the Netherlands....
, FinlandIdols (Finland)Idols is a Finnish reality-television singing competition that airs on MTV3 . It debuted in the summer of 2003, and went on to become one of the most popular shows on Finnish television...
, SwedenIdol (Sweden)Idol is a Swedish reality-competition talent show airing on TV4. It debuted in August 2004, and it has since become one of the most popular shows on Swedish television...
, South AfricaIdols (South Africa)Idols is a television show on the South African television network M-Net, based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in South Africa....
, West African countriesIdols West AfricaIdols West Africa is the West African version of the Idol series franchise. Based in Nigeria, it is a talent contest to find a recording artiste, and aired on M-Net in 2007. Like the Pan-Arab entry to the series, the show incorporated countries throughout the West African region.-Season 1:The show...
, IndonesiaIndonesian IdolIndonesian Idol is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia Asia, which began airing on RCTI on March 2004. Part of the Idol franchise, it was as a spin-off from the UK show Pop Idol...
, and many other countries. - Teen idolTeen idolA teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
, a popular celebrity "worshipped" by teenagers - Japanese idolJapanese idolIn Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
, a heavily promoted and merchandised singer or actor - South Korean idol
- Billy IdolBilly IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, English rock musician - The iDolThe iDol (film)The iDol is a 2006 film from independent filmmaker Norman England. A science fiction satire filmed entirely in Japan, The iDol tells the story of a Japanese collector who comes into possession of a figure with origins not of this world....
, Japanese comedy movie - Idoling!!!Idolingis a Japanese female idol group created by Fuji TV. The concept of the group is to watch as the girls grow as idols and experience various things. The group currently has twenty members from various talent agencies. Idoling's main source of exposure is their variety show, which airs several new...
, a Japanese female idol group - "Idol", an episode of the television show Power Rangers: SPD
- Matinee idolMatinee idolMatinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans.The term almost exclusively refers to male actors. Invariably the adulation was fixated on the actor's looks rather than performance...
, an adored film or theater star - The Idols, a greek pop band of the late 60s and early 70s http://www.musicheaven.gr/html/modules.php?name=Blog&file=page&op=viewPost&pid=20575
- Idoli, a Serbian new wave band from the early 1980s
- 1dol1DOL1DOL was a Filipino musical comedy-drama TV series that aired on ABS-CBN's primetime block. It featured one of the biggest and brightest stars in Philippine showbiz: Sarah Geronimo, Sam Milby and Coco Martin as the lead characters...
, a Philippine TV musical
Other
- Brad CainBrad CainBradley "Brad" Cain is an American professional wrestler, author and personal trainer, better known by his ring name, Lodi...
, a professional wrestler known as Lodi and Idol - Idol (philosophy)Idol (philosophy)Several philosophers have developed concepts that they have called idols, including:* Aristotle the idols in the water, reflections or shadows.* Plato, shades or apparitions or copies...
, one of several concepts developed by various philosophers - Idol RecordsIdol RecordsIdol Records is a Dallas, Texas-based record label and publishing company founded in 1993 by Erv Karwelis who serves as President of the label. Its roster currently consists of bands such as The O's, The Crash That Took Me, Here Holy Spain, Sponge, Watershed, Flickerstick, and PPT...
, a record label - IDOL (software), meta software developed by Autonomy CorporationAutonomy CorporationAutonomy is a multinational enterprise software company with joint headquarters in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and San Francisco, USA and a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard. The company uses a combination of technologies born out of research at the University of Cambridge...