It's back! Everyone's favourite super-smug Brit Simon Cowell heads back across the Atlantic to join forces with Paula, Randy and Ryan for the seventh (yes, seventh!) series of American Idol this week.

But this year's warbling wannabes may want to think twice before competing for superstardom: even some of the show's biggest success stories have later turned into tales of disappointment and heartbreak. From record company rejections to run-ins with the law, here's our lowdown on the show, the shocks and the scandal...

American Idol is on ITV2 at 8pm on Thursday

by Jane Murphy
Pictures: Rex Features, Wenn