The popular definition of celebrity characterizes the Celebrity as a product of manufacture rather than merit. If fame is taken to represent the recognition of achievement, then modern celebrity, in contrast, must be based on something other than achievement, for celebrity and fame are not the same thing. The two terms are interrelated, and occasionally coexistent, but not necessarily interchangeable. This book explores the process by which celebrity is created, using the first seven seasons of Fox Television's "American Idol" as a framework through which to analyze how celebrity is defined, generated, nurtured, and intensified. A model is then suggested for interpreting the particular type of celebrity created on "American Idol", contributing a theoretical framework and conceptual model to the larger network of conversations surrounding the nature of the social phenomenon we call celebrity.