It's all change on American Idol for 2010, with the ninth season of the show featuring new judges and missing some regular faces. Paula Abdul is no longer a part of the show, having signed up to move to the North American version of the UK talent show X-Factor. Her place has been taken by a number of guest judges, with one in particular that will change into a permanent fixture on the show.
Ellen DeGeneres announced on her own 'Ellen' show that she would be starring as Paula's replacement, and will definitely be joining the existing panel with Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. We're also going to be seeing a number of guest judges, with the likes of Kristin Chenoweth, Shania Twain, Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas, Victoria Beckham, Neil Patrick Harris and Katy Perry!
This year's auditions have been held all over the states as usual, in cities such as Denver, Orlando, los angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Arlington and Foxsborough. A number of potential idols are already starting to stand out, with performances from Vanessa Wolfe, Mallorie Haley and Keia Johnson having hit a selected high note with the judges at the Atlanta and Boston auditions. In the Chicago auditions, a few performers particularly stood out such as Paige DeChausse, Marcus Jones, Justin Ray, Keith Semple, John Park, Angela Martin, Charity Vance and naturally, the wonderful Katelyn Epperlys audition.
The Idol celebrity machine is already working too, with one actual audition having found massive audiences on the web. The performance in query was from one General Larry Platt, a 62-year-old veteran from Georgia, singing his song'Pants on the Ground'.
sadly for plenty of Idol fans, this may be the last season with Simon Cowell. Having come to the end of his contract, Cowell appears to have made a decision to move on from american idol, and speculation is abundant as to who will replace him. Names like Elton John, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight and George Cloony are being thrown around, but the actual replacement is probably going to be kept a closely guarded secret for some time yet.
once more this year, American Idol is allowing contestants to use their own instruments during performances. This has been featuring heavily on the show for the past couple of seasons, and whilst it's not to everyone's tastes, it does add a side to the american Idol auditions that has been lacking over time.
Also this year we'll be seeing the return of 'Idol Gives Back' on american idol. It's planned to be held in the last seven result show, and will likely be showing videos of all the good stuff american idol is doing to help people worldwide. The date for the show is at present set as April the 21st.
The format of the show remains the same this year – the first few weeks concentrate on the numerous town auditions, giving back-stories to the contestants and letting us all begin to know them. The aim for the contestants during this stage is to get their'Golden Ticket' and move on to the following phase, Hollywood. During the Hollywood auditions, the pace is stepped up and those who have made it are anticipated to perform to their best. 24 are selected, and these american idol finalists move on to the show properly. They then contend for the judges and audiences favor, facing weekly'votes' over who stays and who goes home!
eventually, we'll again be seeing everyone's fave Ryan Seacrest, presenting american idol with his common aptitude and unique style. Seacrest is also rumoured to be in line for Cowells role on the series ; however it's been mentioned that he likes his current presenter's position and wouldn't like to take on the judges chair.
Tags: american idol, angela martin, chicago auditions, ellen show, guest judges, justin ray, keia, keith semple, kristin chenoweth, mallorie haley, marcus jones, mary j blige, neil patrick harris, ninth season, nited kingdom, randy jackson, ray keith, shania twain, show x, victoria beckham