Outside Malaysia, the show has become known worldwide for the audition of a Michael Jackson impersonator, which became a viral hit on the Internet because of his attempt to sing Billie Jean, gaining over 12 million views on YouTube.

Malaysian Idol was also unique in presenting in a bilingual English/Malaysian format, Jien representing a large portion of the English dialogue and the Malaysian part primarily Aleya/Samad which would have been of aid to Paul Moss' appearance on the show.

The person with the fewest votes (as sent in by the audience throughout Malaysia through SMS and telephone calls) for each week, is eliminated.

The judges included:[1] Jaclyn Victor won the title as the first Malaysian Idol in 2004 while the runner-up was Faradina Mohd.

(ages stated at time of contest) After the first selection round (auditions were open to the public throughout Malaysia), and the three Theater Elimination or "workshop" sessions were over, there were 11 finalists left.

(ages stated at time of contest) These finalists released a compilation album entitled Malaysian Idol 2.

The second season's theme (winner's) song is "Mimpi", written by Pot, a member of the Malaysian band Innuendo.