Auditions

Auditions for Pinoy Idol were held in the following cities: Cagayan de Oro, Batangas City, Iloilo City, Cebu City, Davao City, Pasay, Dagupan, and Angeles City.^[9] Auditions in Naga were canceled for unknown reasons.^[10] During the Pasay auditions, Ida Henares, head of the GMA Artist Center (the talent arm of GMA Network), took over Magdangal's seat in the judges' panel as the latter was in the United States at the time.^[11][12] Out of thousands of aspirants, 179 passed through the next round of eliminations.^[13]

Theater rounds

The 179 audition passers gathered in Manila for the theater rounds in Cinema 6 of SM City North EDSA. The first round saw the hopefuls divided into groups of 10 and they each performed their pieces in front of the judges. Ninety contestants were chosen for the second round. In the second round, the ninety aspirants formed pairs and each pair had duets to perform together; they were judged separately. Half of the ninety were virtually cut. The final forty-five each performed a song of their choice for a final time in front of the judges. Afterwards, they were divided into three groups of fifteen. One group was eliminated, bringing the number down to thirty.

In April 2008, the judges re-examined the performances of the final thirty survivors, starting from their audition pieces down to their final ones in the theater round. Then, in the GMA Network Center, the judges announced the fates of the thirty. It is from this final group that the Top 24 were chosen.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics song "Ready to Fly" by Amy Pearson was used extensively throughout the audition and theatre phases of the competition.

Semi-finalists

Pinoy Idol's 24 semifinalists.

The 24 semi-finalists were announced on May 17, 2008. Some of their names were changed or shortened so it would be easier for viewers to remember. Their names and short biographies were also published the day after the announcement.^[14] The semifinals, or "workshop phase," began on May 23, 2008, with the Top 12 male contestants performing first and the Top 12 female contestants performing the next day. Eliminations were on a weekly basis beginning May 25, 2008, until the Top 12 was finalized.^[15] Because of a quirk in the number of weeks and process of elimination, this stage ended a week later than expected (see Production below).

Top 12 finalists

After the eliminating the eleventh and twelfth semi-finalists from the competition, the Final 12 was formally announced on June 15, 2008. The finals, or "gala night" stage, started on June 21, 2008, with eliminations the next night. Like the semi-finals, eliminations during the finals are on a weekly basis for the first seven weeks.

In the eighth week, two finalists were cut from the competition in a single night to accommodate the final three finalists for the finale; that elimination took place on August 10, 2008. The finale shows took place on August 16 and August 17, 2008, at the SMX Convention Center.

Gretchen (Stephanie) Espina is 20 from Biliran. She is the daughter of Rogelio J. Espina, the governor of the said province. She is studying in the University of the Philippines, Diliman where she is a member of the internationally acclaimed University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors (UPSA). During the competition, she was never in the bottom group. She auditioned in Pasay accompanied by a bodyguard.

Jay Ann "Jayann" Bautista is 21 from Pampanga. She studies in the University of the Philippines, Diliman and her parents run their own businesses. She was formerly a talent of VIVA Entertainment and had released two albums (2003: JayAnne, 2006: Call Me JayAnne) under its record label. Like Espina, she was never placed in the bottom group during the competition. She auditioned in Angeles.

Ramon "Ram" Chaves III is 25 from Cagayan de Oro. He considers fatherhood as his most cherished accomplishment as his audition in Pasay coincided with his wife giving birth.

Daryl (Jett) Celis is 21 from Rizal. He is a son of an OFW, a bar owner in Japan. He auditioned in Pasay with his grandmother, whom he calls his lucky charm.

Elizalde "Kid" Camaya is 24 from Pampanga, as iterated by the program. He currently works for a BPI branch in Quezon City, to which his introductory profile refers as his residence. He says that the show is his "dream and passion." He auditioned in Pasay.

Warren Antig is 25 from Baguio. He also goes under the nickname of "Bordado" because of his tattoos. He became notorious for his decision to back out of the competition during the Theater rounds, only to change his mind in the last minute, irking judges Alcasid and Magdangal in the process and causing delays in the taping of those rounds. He auditioned in Dagupan.

Penelope Ann Matanguihan, known only as Penelope in the show, is 16 from Batangas. She is perennial singing champion who is "raring to fight for her family." She auditioned in Batangas.

Kristoffer Rei Tragico, or Toffer Rei in the show, is 23 from Marikina. He is the son of a driver and a housewife. Despite being from Luzon, he auditioned in Iloilo.

Sue Ellen Cubing, known only as Sue Ellen, is 16 from Iloilo. She is a daughter of a pastor and beauty pageant runner-up. She and her sister, Genevieve, auditioned together in Iloilo and made it through the theater rounds, where Genevieve was among those eliminated.

Roberto "Robby" Navarro, Jr. is 28 from Pampanga. He was once part of a singing group called the Wise Guys, but made a difficult decision to go solo, which he claims is paying off. He released an eponymous solo album way back in 1999 under Sony BMG.^[16] He auditioned in Angeles.

(Angeli) Mae Flores is 18 from Marikina. She competed in the talent show Star for a Night, the same one in which Sarah Geronimo and Mau Marcelo participated. She auditioned in Angeles.

Jenifer "Jeni" Rawolle is 20 from Paco, Manila. She previously competed in Pinoy Pop Superstar. She auditioned in Pasay.

Finals weekly song themes

• Week 1 (June 21): Songs from their greatest pre-Idol performances
• Week 2 (June 28): Song dedications
• Week 3 (July 5): Songs of their lives
• Week 4 (July 12): Songs sung by Regine Velasquez
• Week 5 (July 19): Songs sung by Jaya
• Week 6 (July 26): Songs by OPM bands
• Week 7 (August 2): Songs sung by Basil Valdez
• Week 8 (August 9): Greatest Idol performances
• Week 9 (August 16): Judges' choice, favorite mentor's choice, and personal choice

Ratings

According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' Mega Manila household television ratings, the pilot episode of Pinoy Idol earned a 16.3% rating.^[18] While the final episode scored a 18% rating.

Critical response

Early into the development of Pinoy Idol, an online campaign requested Ignacio's removal as program director primarily because of his frequent use of butterflies (whether live butterflies or having people wear butterfly wings) on every project he has directed with critics finding the idea "tacky and definitely not Idol-material". He commented that he would still stick to his "lucky trademark" and even taunted petitioners to direct the show and put beetles or mosquitoes on the set if that is what they want - a statement which only added to the collective anger of fans. However, no butterfly-inspired designs were used in the program.^[19][20]

In an article published before Pinoy Idol's premiere, noted film and television critic Nestor U. Torre hoped that the lapses that occurred in Philippine Idol would be remedied in Pinoy Idol.^[21] However, once the show went underway, those hopes seem to dampen as Torre noted on the first episode alone some mediocre talent and Gutierrez not yet becoming his own as host. Torre did laud the judging styles of Alcasid and Magdangal and Tracy's emerging Simon Cowell-like demeanor.^[22] One viewer, who wrote to the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the show, was not as impressed when comparing it to Philippine Idol, complaining about Gutierrez's nasal and unnatural hosting style, Magdangal's immaturity as judge and Tracy seemingly imitating Cowell more as compared to Cayabyab.^[23]

A number of critics expressed that, counting out the production lapses, a main reason for the show's failure is that early elimination of the better contestants which confused many of its viewers.

Meanwhile, entertainment writer Jean Oli wrote that Pinoy Idol does not have that "Idol feel" despite high expectations towards GMA Network, calling it "an ordinary singing contest." She even stated that the network's previous singing contests such as Pinoy Pop Superstar and Celebrity Duets: Philippine Edition were more interesting to watch than Pinoy Idol.^[24]

In a post-mortem article written six days after the finale, Torre wrote that the entire Finals phase of the competition came out less exciting than Philippine Idol's because of several factors, namely some of the finalists were not even star-material, the entire audition process that put them in the competition in the process, and the early elimination of the better singers from the competition. He even doubts if the winners and others in the competition were really talented and versatile enough to take advantage of the strong support that they had during the competition.^[25]