American Idol is only getting better and bigger through the years. The highest-rated TV reality show has been so openhanded to the public in uncovering America’s next singing sensation.
General auditions are done nationwide to discover the hidden voices of America and raise them to stardom. This famous reality show has been entertaining almost every household worldwide. Thanks to this creation of Simon Fuller.
American Idol has always been a hit since its premiere season last 2002. The concept of the show is to find a new recording artist throughout America. Today, on its 10th season, the show has undergone quite a few changes. The highly anticipated season started airing on Fox since January 19, 2011. This the first season by which 15 years old aspirant singers can qualify to audition. This age leniency fires up the hope of all the youngsters aiming to become America’s next big star. However, the maximum age still remains at 28. Besides age, a new set of judges has also been so apparent on screen. The show has switched back to its original three-man judging panel which was opposed to the previous season’s four critics. Replacing season 9 judges Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres are singer-actress Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith’s main man Steven Tyler. The two join Grammy Award-winning producer and music manager Randy Jackson on board.” Mr. Mean” Simon Cowell decided to leave American Idol to concentrate on X-Factor, a successful U.K. show and which he is the producer. The Emmy winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi decided not to renew their contract for another season due to other career pursuits. Idol is hosted by the radio and TV personality Ryan Seacrest, who is now on his 9th consecutive season.
Nigel Lythgoe returns as the executive producer for American Idol season 10. The show also has a new musical director in Ray Chew in replacement of Ricky Minor. Idol’s partnership with Sony Entertainment also ended on the previous season. The current season is affiliated with Universal Music Group. This means that the season 10 singing champ will now be signing contract with Interscope Records. The finalists’ recording albums will also be promoted and distributed by A&M Records and Geffen Records. Consequently, Interscope’s Chairman Jimmy Iovine was made in-house mentor who works with the contestants and help them tailor their weekly choices of songs.
Although the jury makes comments after every live performances the final votes still lies within the viewer’s hands. Every season American Idol singing champ is determined by viewers through SMS voting and phone calls. However on the current season, viewers can also cast their votes online via their Facebook accounts. This is the first time for Idol’s online voting. Previous winners were Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze.
Besides qualifying age and some internal negotiations, Idol has also switched to Wednesdays and Thursdays contrasting the foregoing schedule of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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