FOX has announced cities that will host auditions this summer for the 10th season of American Idol. For the first time, 15-year-olds will be allowed to audition (the previous minimum age was 16). “A lot of young, talented people are now seeking careers and representation before they turn 16,” says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, executive producer of the show. “Lowering the age limit allows us to tap into this talent pool.”

Auditions are open to men and women 15-28 years old who are eligible to work in the United States.

Things kick off July 17 in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena (501 Broadway). Wristbands will be distributed from approximately 7am on July 15 until approximately 8am on July 17. Auditioners will not be permitted to camp out. Once obtaining a wristband, auditioners will be asked to return to the Bridgestone Arena by 5am on July 17.

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Categories: Music, Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: American Idol, American Idol age requirement, American Idol auditions, American Idol Season 10, Austin, East Rutherford, FOX, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, San Francisco

by Ruth Anne Boulet

Welcome back, American Idol fans. I haven’t been blogging this season, but now that Ellen is making her debut, I have to weigh in.

Let me start by saying I like Ellen. I remember going to a house party when she came out on her sitcom. However, I wasn’t thrilled when she was selected as the new judge on American Idol. I want actual singing critiques, not wisecracks. I don’t want to see her do her little dance or crack one-liners. I’m hoping she’s got something to say about how people sing.

So we’ve got 181 people in Hollywood. Hollywood week whittles that down to 24. That means I almost have as much of a chance being in the Top 24, and I’m not even there. [Read more →]

Categories: Reality TV by windupdoll
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Tags: American Idol, Ellen Degeneres, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell

By Stacey Harrison

Credit: Michael Becker / FOX

PASADENA, Calif. — Making a surprise appearance during the Television Critics Association panel on Monday, Simon Cowell announced that he was leaving American Idol after this season to ready the launch of another talent show, The X Factor, which will premiere on the network in 2011.

Cowell has long been trying to get X Factor on the air in the U.S., and he signed the deal on stage with FOX execs Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice next to him, “so that there can be no more speculation,” said Rice, chairman of entertainment for FOX Broadcasting.

Reilly, president of entertainment for FOX Broadcasting, had no updates regarding reports his network had been wooing Conan O’Brien to defect to FOX amid the late-night shakeup that could bring Jay Leno back to his former 10:35pm slot and push O’Brien and his faltering Tonight Show back to 11:05pm. “I love Conan personally and professionally,” Reilly said. “But he has a decision to make about his future, and until he does, there really can’t be any discussion.” He did say there have been informal talks with O’Brien, but nothing official.

Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by sharrison76
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Tags: American Idol, Conan O'Brien, FOX, Kevin Reilly, Peter Rice, Simon Cowell, Stacey Harrison, TCA, The X Factor

By Lori Acken

Here’s what Randy Jackson thinks you should know about American Idol’s ninth season, which bows with a two-hour premiere this Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 8pm on FOX.

• It’s gonna be a good one:

“Interesting, wild, crazy … .” And thanks to the series’ new judge, longtime Jackson pal and fellow Louisiana native Ellen DeGeneres, really really funny.

• If you think Ellen has nothing to bring to the AI judges table, you’re wrong:

“We’re going to have a lot of laughs,” Jackson told reporters during a conference call on Friday. “Welcoming Ellen to the fold is a good look. She’s funny, she’s charismatic, she’s really cool. … She’s a die-hard music fan. And she’s a performer herself, so she knows what’s it’s like to perform and entertain.”

And yeah, she’ll speak for us armchair AI quarterbacks at home — cause after all, it’s us who call the game in the end, am I right?

“She brings the lay person point of view. … She will give the at-home viewer a real voice on the judges panel.”

• But he still misses his girl Paula:

“The Paula thing is near and dear to my heart. We speak all the time. She was one of our best friends and she still is. I miss that. Sometimes we look down the judges table and and go, ‘Where’s Paula?’

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Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: American Idol, Ellen Degeneres, FOX, Mary J. Blige, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Victoria Beckham

Ellen DeGeneres replaces Paula Abdul as "Idol" judge this season

From FOX:

What is your all-time favorite Idol moment? Who is your favorite Idol? Who is your favorite judge? What has you most excited for the return of American Idol?

American Idol fans, now is your chance to sing the praises of Idol by creating a video testimonial and uploading it to fox.com/idolfans. FOX is inviting Idol fans 18 years of age and older to submit video testimonials sharing what they love about American Idol, to be evaluated for possible inclusion in an American Idol promotional campaign. For complete rules and submission guidelines, please visit www.fox.com/idolfans. [Read more →]

Categories: Music, Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: American Idol, Ellen Degeneres, FOX, Idol, Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Season 9, Simon Cowell

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Fresh off a new album that debuted at No. 1 last month (Play On), singing star Carrie Underwood now showcases her voice in her first Christmas special. The two-hour Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special premieres on FOX Dec. 7 at 8pm ET/PT, and features Carrie performing new music from Play On, along with her previous hits and interpretations of holiday classics. Carrie is joined onstage by guests such as Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, David Cook, Kristin Chenoweth and Christina Applegate. At a recent conference call with journalists, Carrie talked a little more about the special, and her own holiday traditions. [Read more →]

Categories: Holiday, Music, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: American Idol, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, Christina Applegate, David Cook, Dolly Parton, Jeff Pfeiffer, Kristin Chenoweth, Play On

by Karl J. Paloucek

Having launched so many showbiz careers (of admittedly variable quality), American Idol and its producers are enjoying success not beyond their wildest imaginations, but exactly as they imagined it. In addition to the usual advertising revenue generated by the show, money is sluicing in via the ongoing synergy with AT&T, album and download sales, licensing and so forth, not to mention the ongoing careers of its participants. In the wake of that kind of success, it was certain that other shows would come along and do their emulation act. Shows like Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, Nickelodeon’s Instant Star and, most notably and recently, FOX’s Glee, have integrated music product into their plot lines that’s designed to serve as an ancillary revenue generator.

Hot on Glee‘s heels comes Nickelodeon’s next big thing, Big Time Rush, created by Scott Fellow, developer of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. In a partnership with Sony’s Columbia/Epic imprint (the announcement of which implicitly heralds the expectations both companies have for the project), Big Time Rush will be a new music/comedy series centering on the lives of four young friends as they [Read more →]

Categories: Comedy, Family, Music, kids by kpaloucek
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Tags: American Idol, Big Time Rush, Glee, Hannah Montana, Instant Star, Kendall Schmidt, Nickelodeon, Scott Fellow

by Ruth Anne Boulet

*Sigh*

Really, I didn’t think it would come to this. Paula is really, truly out. Replacing her is Ellen DeGeneres.

At the risk of repeating what several other bloggers are saying, I will concur that while I like Ellen, she’s no Paula. Paula was on the panel to be really upbeat and spout the crazy salad. Will I hear Ellen tell contestants they are ‘authentic’ or ‘original?’ Will I believe her if she does?

One thing I know is that Ellen won’t have the ‘is-she-drunk-or-high-or-WHAT?!’ that Paula gave us, consistently, week after week. That’s what made her, in Paula’s own words, original & authentic.

There are reports that Ellen wants to give “the people’s perspective.” Sigh. Ellen, you’re not “the people” anymore. You’ve got your own very successful daytime show. And anyway, I don’t want “the people” out of my judging panel. That’s what I have my friends & the Internet for. That’s where I get “the people”‘s reaction. I don’t want a representative of us non-singing folks on the judging panel. Sorry, Ellen.

I truly hope I ‘m wrong and Ellen DeGeneres brings something new to American Idol. I have a feeling, however, that she won’t and this next season we’ll see the slow death of a successful reality TV show. Maybe then American Idol will finally get an Emmy — like so many, after it’s gone.

Photo credit: © 2008 by Jeff Frank

Check out Ellen on SYTYCD and decide for yourself after the jump.

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Categories: Reality TV by windupdoll
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Tags: American Idol, Ellen Degeneres, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell, So You Think You Can Dance, SYTYCD

Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment at FOX, confirmed today at TCA that Victoria Beckham and Katy Perry would be guest judges on the next season of American Idol. Rice also addressed the departure of judge Paula Abdul:

“It’s very saddening to us. She was the only member whose contract was up … we very much wanted her to return. We made an offer we feel was very fair; it was a substantial raise. Between now and January we will come up with a replacement for Paula. We’re very sad that she’s not coming back.”

Although there will be a search for a fourth judge, Rice says there is “no thought that any of [the guest judges] will be a long-term judge for us.”

Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: American Idol, FOX, guest judge, Katy Perry, Paula Abdul, Peter Rice, Victoria Beckham

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Oh, to be as deliciously open and uncensored as Kathy Griffin, star of Bravo’s My Life on the D-List (which airs its season finale this Monday). At an outdoor shindig thrown by NBC/Universal during the Television Critics Association (TCA) tour, Griffin gabbed with a small scrum of reporters and let her thoughts fly on various topics of the day, never missing a wry, often tongue-in-cheek beat even as she managed to throw in ironically glamorous poses for passing photographers during the conversation:

On Paula Abdul Leaving American Idol
Griffin: This is a very tough time for me emotionally. I cannot imagine my life without Paula, in the way that Paula cannot imagine her life without, let’s say, Vicodin. Grief. Denial. It was the seven stages of death for me [on hearing Paula was leaving], and I don’t believe it yet because I don’t want to believe it. And I think they’re going to have the auditions in like Boise or something, and then there’s going to be a ray of light like heaven opened up its doors, and Paula’s going to stumble in and pick up where we left her.

On Wanting To Take Paula’s Place
I would only consider replacing Ryan [Seacrest]. Then that would make me king of the universe, because he apparently runs the whole universe and we’re just living in it. [Read more →]

Categories: Reality TV by RabbitEars
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Tags: Al Sharpton, American Idol, Barry Manilow, Bill O'Reilly, Book Club Selection, Bravo, Campbell Brown, Carol Channing, Cher, Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Comedy Central, Creative Arts Emmy, D-List, D-List season finale, Dirty Jobs, Emmy, Emmy Awards, fox news, Glenn Beck, Jeff Pfeiffer, Joan Rivers, Joan Rivers roast, Kathy Griffin, Kathy Griffin My Life on the D-List, Michelle Malkin, Paula Abdul, roast, rush limbaugh, Ryan Seacrest, Sarah Palin, Suzanne Somers, TCA