Pop Idol received "generally unfavorable" reviews for it's PC and PS2 versions, according to review aggregatorMetacritic. The Game Boy Advance version did not receive enough reviews to reach a consensus.[12][13]
X-Play gave the game's PS2 version a 1 out of 5, complaining about the gameplay consisting of pressing buttons in time to judge the character's singing and not on the player's actual singing.[11] IGN's Ed Lewis was similarly negative, criticizing the game for having "no singing ability required and only minimal rhythmic ability", the extremely simplistic button inputs, and the lack of any reward for completion of the game, ultimately giving the game 4/10 and stating anyone who bought it had been "duped".[14]
Nintendo Power's reviewers gave the GBA version of the game an overall score of 3.2 out of 5.[8]
An iPhone application entitled American Idol: The Game was released on the App Store. It was released by Electronic Arts on July 3, 2009. Omaha Sternberg of Macworld rated the game 4.5 out of 5 stars. The application has received mixed reviews from its users.