This is a guest post by Richard Rushfield, the author of American Idol: The Untold Story. For three years Richard has covered American Idol for the Los Angeles Times, writing hundreds of columns and conducting thousands of interviews with cast and crew. He is currently an entertainment columnist for The Daily Beast, a Vanity Fair contributing editor, and author of its long-running “Intelligence Report” column. For more information please visit http://www.richardrushfield.com/ and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter.

Idol was perhaps the first show on television to have as much of a life off the screen as on.   These days we are used to The Hills girls, Bachelor contestants, Real Housewives and Jersey Shore housemates seeing their dramas spill over from the shows that made them famous to the covers of the tabloids and the greater celeb-obsessed blogosphere.

But when Idol debuted on the US airwaves in 2002, such a phenomenon was relatively unknown.  The internet was still in its infancy and network programming was a remote, pristine world, largely untouched by the hurly burly press.

What brought Idol out of its shell was the steady stream of scandals it provided as fodder for the ravenous new media.  Each year it seemed, some gotcha shattered Idol’s peace; some disqualification brought it face to face with the public beast.

Ten years later, the stream of scandals doesn’t seem to have hurt entertainment’s greatest juggernaut.  If anything, the blow-ups have kept us all talking about the show, even when the singing got a little dull.

Here then, in order of appearance, are the ten greatest scandals of Idol’s first decade:

[Click on any scandal to get started.]

© 2011 Richard Rushfield, author of American Idol: The Untold Story

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Want to win a copy of Richard’s book? It’s easy. To enter, head over to our Facebook page and cast your vote for American Idol’s biggest star of all time. Simply open the American Idol photo album and “like” the Idol contestant’s photo of your choice to vote. Then, not only will we finally prove to the world that Clay Aiken wasn’t the biggest thing to come from Idol, but we’ll randomly draw two (2) people to take home the prize and announce them on Facebook tomorrow, January 19th, just in time for the season 10 premiere!!

Everyone who reads this site knows how we feel about Adam Lambert and his weird acne skin and awful Kate Gosselin-inspired haircut. The truth is, we’d rather vote for Sanjaya to win tonight than have to see this guy on every channel/magazine cover/gossip website for the next two weeks.

Too bad we can’t be the final verdict in tonight’s American Idol finale.

It’s been a long time coming and tonight, at long last, 2009′s American Idol will be crowned. We plan on holding a moment of silence for our BF, Danny Gokey, as Ryan Seacrest no doubt drags the show into 2 hours of boring-ness before the winner is announced. We also plan on rekindling that relationship with god as we pray that Kris Allen takes the title. (He’s way cuter, no?)

What about you? Who are you voting for?

Tom and Katie are still married…and happy.

Rhode Island mandates domestic violence education in schools.

Sarah Palin damns us all to hell. See ya there!

Lakisha Jones (from American Idol) got married…and everyone is really excited.

Leo can’t be anything but sexy.

No more sexy time for Brad and Angelina.

God, we wish we worked at airport security right about now.

Women don’t let this recession get in our way of beauty!

Justin Bobby and LC? NO WAY!

Happy (sorta) Birthday, Miley Cyrus!

Do you experience drunk-o-vision?

Amy Winehouse’s nose says, “I QUIT!”

Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz (fashion) emergency.

Did Joe Biden have a little work done? (We knew it!)

That said, this season has seen the best talent I have ever seen. Brooke, Jason, and Carly would have been just as deserving of the title. I am so pumped about this season’s show that, as a girl from Hawaii, I am very tempted to fly over to California this summer to check out the American Idol Top 10 Tour.

I can’t wait for Cook’s album and hope that the producers give him space to be just as original as he’s been all season. (Who would have thought this rocker could pull off Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” within six weeks?) Don’t get me wrong, Archuleta is an extremely gifted 17 year old, but America should usher in this summer with a major celebration for getting it right this year!

David Cook, congratulations!!! You rock!

The 7th season will undoubtedly bring a whole new crop of talented-yet-strangely-un-marketable contestants (Remember Ruben? Taylor Hicks? Katharine McPhee? All dropped from their label), snide remarks from Simon, and a crapload of unnecessary tears.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it all before, but I could be tempted to watch agan…if someone Sanjaya-esque pops up. He may not have been able to sing or dress himself, but he sure knew how to make those 12-year-olds cry.

Speaking of crying, what about the dude who wrote that creepy stalker song for Paula?! Eesh. Someone get him a hobby

I thought the writing was terrible, the songs were worse, and the acting was mind-numbingly bad. Granted, it was written for kids, and I guess it was fine for someone just wheening themselves off Sesame Street and the Disney Channel, but when it comes to the over-16 crowd who worship the movie, I just don’t understand.

Another thing I don’t understand is the magical pull of Zac Efron.

I mean, he kind of looks like he’s made of wax. A 12-year-old wax figurine. I know he’s almost 20, but he sure doesn’t look it, and if it wasn’t all over the place that he was dating what’s-her-name, I’d bet $100 dollars his ass was gay.

So why is he so famous? I think it’s the same reason Sanjaya and Clay Aiken (two boys who should just give up and step out of the closet) were /are so popular. Tween girls love guys who look harmless, sweet, and perfectly groomed.

These guys look into the camera lovingly, have non-threatening voices, bust out vaugely—but not too—sexual dance moves and always seem completely drug free. They’re male candy; sweet and sugary and manufactured.

I suppose I can understand the Tween love affair with Mr. “Cupie Doll” Efron. When I was that age, my walls were covered in Leonardo DiCaprio pictures. Covered. I was in love with his boyish face, his skinny frame, and his almost feminine hair…looking back on it now, I find it hard to see the allure of a pubescent looking 20-something, but that’s because at this age, I’m looking for a man. Someone who knows how to pay their taxes and make dinner and beat up someone for my affection.

Every time I look at Efron, I feel like I might have to stand next to him at the urinal and make sure he isn’t intimidated.

So if you’re 12, I say, go on and moon over the boy.

But if you’re pushing 21 and still think he’s dreamy…you might want to flip off the Mouse Ears channel. It’s brainwashing you.

Sanjaya seems to have thankfully faded into pop culture history, and we’re yet to see if the American Idol curse will hit Jordin, or skip over her in a Carrie Underwood manor.

Seriously, didn’t it just end? So why, oh why are there already audition dates for the upcoming season? Is it so brave people don’t have to sit through horrible weather as they have in the past? Is it so Fox and the producers of AI can milk advertisers for even more money by making the show longer? Is it because we just can’t get enough?

Auditions begin on July 30th in San Diego, and snake their way across the country to finish up in Philadelphia on August 27th.

Cities hit in between—Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, Charleston and Miami. My bet for the winner next year? Some cute farm girl from Omaha who will blow everyone away. I don’t know, just seems like an underdog story ready to be blown out of proportion.

I’ve always fancied myself quite a singer. I have my microphone shaped sponge in my shower (a gift from a friend, I swear), and I rock out to Think Before He Cheats and other power ballads. People haven’t run away when I sing at an occasional open mic.

But there is not a snowballs chance in hell that I—even if I had pipes like Whitney Houston and knew I was going to make it—would ever consider standing online with the tens of thousands of other people who are bound to show up. Never. And if it started to rain? I’d be out of there.

I just don’t have that kind of devotion.

But big up to those who do,– especially you crazies out there who make the really bad audition shows at the beginning. I hope you get one of those stupid awards they gave out at the finale.

My feeling is that American Idol is getting a little old. This season did not measure up to expectations in my book, and it was almost painful to sit through by the end of the season. I figure go out on top before you jump the shark. Can you jump the shark in a reality TV contest? Anyway… Bottom line—get out before we hate you.

Wannabe’s of all different ages and music genres will compete in a battle of the bands week after week. Ten semi-finalists will perform in front of a live audience and much to the tune of American Idol, each week will feature a new musical theme. Garage bands will have to scat some jazz, while jazz bands will have to rock-out. The show will end in a head-to-head finale of the top three bands. A competition of bands seems much more exciting to me. More drama between the bands and let us not forget, more sexy guys playing guitars.

So this is your chance to put down your hairbrush and air guitars and try out for the real thing. For more info on how to audition click here.

And hey, if you aren’t musically talented (ahem, it took me a few years after I realized I can’t sing to let go of my wannabe pop star dream) but still want to try out, you can always end up as the next William Hung. Fame is fame right?

Actress turned wannabe vocalist, Scarlett Johansson, has been recording her own album, “Scarlett Sings Tom Waits” for the past year with Rhino Records.

The thing is, she’s actually pretty good! MUCH better than most of the other actresses-turned-singers we’ve seen in recent years. Although I must admit, I am one of the only people who liked Jennifer Love Hewitt circa “How Do I Deal?“

Nonetheless, Scarlett’s deep, rhaspy speaking voice works really well for her vocal stylings, and she already has the image to back it up.

Catch a snippet of her singing “Summertime” here, and check out her opening SNL last week making fun of Sanjaya, played by the hilarious Andy Sandberg here. She’s joking around, of course, but you can still hear her pipes.

This weekend, Scarlett made an appearance at Coachella, singing back up for Jim Reid of the band The Jesus and Mary Chain. I give her props not only for having the guts to get up onstage where thousands of fans come to see an awesome, impressive line-up, but also for wearing that outfit. Yikes.

Will Scarlett’s album be a hit, or will she fall victim to the actor-turned-singer syndrome, like Don Johnson and Jamie-Lynn Sigler? Guess we’ll have to wait and find out. And anything is better than Paris.

In spite of all the odd hype, you kept truckin’ and made it to the top 7. Being the butt of many jokes and subjected to some serious scrutiny never got the best of you. So, I give you mad props for that.

However last night, your American Idol days were finally done-zo. People were relieved, people cried and people cheered. But I can’t say images of your lucious locks and high-pitched voice with ever be forgotten. After all, you’ll live on YouTube forever.

I dedicate this anthem to you: