It's that time of year again: thousands of ordinary folks aspiring to follow in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and others in being the U.S. of A.'s next musical superstar.
The Fox PR with a brief rundown of the season schedule:
http://www.americanidol.com/news/view/pid/1500
There are several notable changes this year, most notably the addition of a fourth judge-noted songwriter Kara DioGuardi. The broadcast schedule is slightly different: three weeks of auditions, then two weeks of the Hollywood round (with the return of group numbers). There will be 36 semifinalists (up from last year's 24) announced on Feb. 11; they will perform in groups of 12 on Feb. 17 and 24 and March 3. The man and woman with the highest total of viewer votes from each group, along with the next highest vote getter, will move on to the final 12.
The wild card round is back this year; the four judges will pick their favorite remaining semifinalists to perform once more on March 5, after which they will select the last three of this year's finalists.
The final round begins on March 10 and will continue until the finale in mid-May; no word yet on what themes or mentors will be selected, though one of the producers recently said that he would like to have Britney Spears as a mentor.
There will be NO Idol Gives Back special this year (probably due to the current state of the economy); the producers plan to bring it back next year. And, as far as I know, the current viewer voting system, allowing for unlimited phone and text message voting, has not changed.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
The Fox PR with a brief rundown of the season schedule:
http://www.americanidol.com/news/view/pid/1500
There are several notable changes this year, most notably the addition of a fourth judge-noted songwriter Kara DioGuardi. The broadcast schedule is slightly different: three weeks of auditions, then two weeks of the Hollywood round (with the return of group numbers). There will be 36 semifinalists (up from last year's 24) announced on Feb. 11; they will perform in groups of 12 on Feb. 17 and 24 and March 3. The man and woman with the highest total of viewer votes from each group, along with the next highest vote getter, will move on to the final 12.
The wild card round is back this year; the four judges will pick their favorite remaining semifinalists to perform once more on March 5, after which they will select the last three of this year's finalists.
The final round begins on March 10 and will continue until the finale in mid-May; no word yet on what themes or mentors will be selected, though one of the producers recently said that he would like to have Britney Spears as a mentor.
There will be NO Idol Gives Back special this year (probably due to the current state of the economy); the producers plan to bring it back next year. And, as far as I know, the current viewer voting system, allowing for unlimited phone and text message voting, has not changed.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
