American Idol Season 9: Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood Return to the Judges Panel
The search for the next American Idol begins tomorrow, August 26th!
As ABC’s American Idol heads back into audition season, Disney has announced that the three main judges are set to return to the hit reality singing competition.
What’s Happening:
- American Idol is gearing up for its 9th season on ABC (24th overall) with auditions beginning tomorrow.
- As the show enters its search for America’s next superstar, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood are set to return to the judges panel.
- Richie and Bryan joined the judges panel in the show’s first season on the Disney-owned network, alongside popstar Katy Perry.
- After Perry’s departure, Underwood returned to the series after winning Season 4 of American Idol.
- While American Idol no longer rules pop culture the way it did in the 2000s, Season 8’s finale drew in big audiences, being the Number 1 program of the night, number 1 for the week in primetime, and earned the largest audience for the series in two years.
- Underwood was met to mixed reviews by audiences for her role on the judges panel, with some viewers feeling she held a bias against winner Jamal Roberts, giving him unfairly harsh criticism.
- As she returns to the series for a second season, hopefully she finds her stride behind the judges panel.
- For those looking to audition for the series, American Idol is set to travel across the nation beginning tomorrow.
- Audition dates include:
- “First 900" VIP Event (Aug. 26)
- Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi (Aug. 27)
- Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas (Aug. 28)
- Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (Sept. 2)
- Nationwide open call (Sept. 3)
- Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (Sept. 4)
- Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee (Sept. 8)
- Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington (Sept. 9)
- Florida, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia (Sept. 11)
- East Coast open call (Sept. 12)
- The South open call (Sept. 15)
- Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin (Sept. 16)
- West and Midwest open call (Sept. 18)
- Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C. (Sept. 19)
- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming (Sept. 22)
- Nationwide open call (Sept. 24)
- You can learn more about auditions here.
What Do Auditions Look Like?:
- While auditions for American Idol are almost here, people won’t be singing for the judges panel quite yet.
- These audition experiences are a pre-screening process to cast the people who will sing for the panel.
- Casting is used very intentionally here, they are looking for compelling characters to bring to TV screens around the country.
- You fill out a pretty robust “about me" where they ask you about your family, hardships, goals, and other personal details.
- Upon filling that out, you wait to sing for someone who will look at your sheet and hear you sing before telling you whether you are a yes or a no. Most people are turned away here.
- These auditions are not private, usually with a line of people waiting to sing behind you.
- After that, if you move on, you will need to audition for producers of the show, have an interview, and then they decide whether they will invite you back to audition for the show.
- While going in person may make your chances of moving on slightly higher, for those who have a tough time waiting in lines outside may want to consider submitting online.
- Break a leg to those looking to be the next American Idol!
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