American Idol 6 Preseason Info

[steffijo]

post all about any info you hear about the upcoming season of Idol!!!!!

[steffijo]

Fox announces 'American Idol 6' audition dates and locations


By Steve Rogers, 07/12/2006

Fox has announced the dates and locations for the American Idol 6's open auditions.


As it has for the last two seasons, American Idol's sixth season will allow singers as old as 28 years of age to compete (prior to Idol 4, age 26 had been the maximum.) As in previous seasons, the competition's minimum age will remain 16.

More specifically, all contestants must be between 16 and 28 years old on August 6, 2006 -- meaning that all applicants must be born on or between August 7, 1977 and August 6, 1990 in order to be eligible to participate.


Auditions for the sixth edition of American Idol will begin in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday, August 8, 2006 at The Forum.
In addition to Los Angeles, auditions will also take place in six other cities -- San Antonio, TX; East Rutherford, NJ; Birmingham, AL; Memphis, TN; Minneapolis, MN; and Seattle, WA. Beyond meeting the competition's age requirements, applicants must also be eligible to work in the United States.

Last season, American Idol only conducted auditions in six cities. In 2004, the show held auctions in eight cities.

Besides Los Angeles, the six other audition locations for American Idol 6 are:

? San Antonio, TX - Friday, August 11 at the Alamodome
? East Rutherford, NJ - Monday, August 14 at Continental Airlines Arena
? Birmingham, AL - Monday, August 21 at BJCC
? Memphis, TN - Sunday, September 3 at FedExForum
? Minneapolis, MN - Friday, September 8 the Target Center
? Seattle, WA Tuesday - September 19 at Key Arena

American Idol's sixth season will premiere in January 2007.

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/fox-announces-american-idol-6-audition-dates-and-locations-4224.php

[Moom]

Last year, Reality TV Magazine broke the story about Simon Cowell’s prediction that a Southerner would win American Idol 5. We also pointed out that a Southerner had won the previous four seasons of American Idol. Since Taylor Hicks took the American Idol 5 crown and made it five straight wins in a row for the South, the amazing Southern win streak is becoming bigger news than ever for American Idol season six.

Will a Southerner win American Idol for the sixth consecutive time? With auditions being held in Birmingham, Alabama, the city which has produced not one but two previous American Idol winners, one could almost say it’s a virtual lock that the South will rise to the top on American Idol once again.

However, the American Idol judges aren’t being quite as vocal about who they think might win this year as they have been in past years. Sure there have been some off-handed references in Entertainment Weekly to someone with curly hair and a girl with no personality, but nothing to the detail of Simon Cowell’s Southern proclamation of 2006.

Reality TV Magazine recently scoured through a Randy Jackson conference call with the media, and we think we have discovered some clues to the regionality of who Randy Jackson thinks is going to win American Idol 6. When asked about Birmingham, Alabama's chances, Randy Jackson replied “Listen, you never know, but I’ve got a feeling the winner is going to be from somewhere else this year.” When asked about North Carolina’s chances, Jackson re-iterated his earlier assertion saying, “As I said to the person from Birmingham, I think that you guys will definitely be represented. I don’t know if I can say the winner, but it’s going to be a little different this season, I think, as far as where the winner comes from.”

From Randy Jackson’s statements, it seems as if he thinks that the winner will come from a different place than a Southern state like Alabama or North Carolina. Where might that somewhere else be? During other parts of his interview, Randy Jackson, who is himself a Southerner, gave praise to one other area of the country besides the South. When asked why no one has won from one of the bigger markets, Randy Jackson said, “No, I think that people from the south and Midwest are not as pretentious as some of the other cities. When I was doing A&R what I would always say about New York and LA is everybody watches DET, VH1, MTV, and all of those shows and they become copies of what they see. So when you’re looking for genuine originality and you’re trying to find someone that is just honestly talented and coming in with what they really have and really trying hard, sometimes it’s a little tough. I mean I don’t think we’re looking for a copy of anything. I know I’m not and I don’t think Simon and Paula are either. I think it’s just really that; I think it’s just a little bit more tried and true in those areas.”

When asked about if the contestants had become a little more savvy, Randy Jackson once again complimented the South and the Midwest. Jackson said, “It’s funny you say that because every season I think they get a little bit more savvy. I think that’s what I was saying earlier to someone is that, but somehow the people from the south still keep it honest and real and the Midwest. They’re not as savvy, but I think a lot of these people watch and they go, 'What did so-and-so do? What did they like that so-and-so did? I’m going to follow that and copy that. You liked it when so-and-so did it.' As if this is the way to kind of get through. Do you know what I mean?”

Based on Randy Jackson’s comments that suggest that the winner will come from a little bit different area than the South this year and his high praise of the Midwest, contestants from the Midwest should feel good about their chances this year. At first glance, Randy Jackson’s comments might steer people toward believing that he thinks the winner will come out of the Minneapolis, Minnesota auditions, which was the only Midwestern city among the audition stops. However, given Jackson’s reference to the possibility that it might be someone that auditioned in Birmingham, this should be good news to anyone from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota who made the trip down South to audition. Also, if you take into account Randy Jackson's earlier statement to Entertainment Weekly about his favorite being someone with curly hair, then it could be further narrowed down to a curly haired midwesterner who auditioned in Birmingham.

[Moom]

Starts tonight on Fox... two hours tonight, two hours tomorrow night.

[steffijo]

Fox's 'American Idol' returns with new tweaks, more shrieks


By Christopher Rocchio, 01/16/2007

The holidays may have ended several weeks ago, but for millions of people the greatest gift of all -- the sixth season of Fox's American Idol -- remains unopened. The wait will end with tonight's season premiere, and despite using the same familiar format that has made the show a ratings mega-hit, there are some twists in store for Idol's sixth installment.


In December, producers said the series would feature a big event midway through the season, describing it as something that "will blow America away."

The big event may be the return of several former Idol contestants, who could be called back to perform the top songs chosen from a national songwriting competition being held to determine what tune the sixth season's finalists will sing in May.


"I would love to do two or three shows with past Idol contestants singing the songs, and then have America judge the songs," executive producer Nygil Lythgoe recently told Entertainment Weekly. "But that is not confirmed with Fox yet."

Then again, the big event could take place in the semifinal round, as US Weekly recently reported contestants may be grouped to perform songs from acts like the Bee Gees, Beastie Boys and Supremes, then be critiqued and voted off as an ensemble. And of course, who knows which superstars will collaborate with Idol 6 finalists to begin with.

"There will be unconventional partnerships," Idol executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz told US. "This is a show that has that 'holy cow' factor."

Idol executive producer Ken Warwick told USA Today in yesterday's issue that something is being planned when the competition is down to the final six singers. "We're going to have a big special, with lots of stars," Warwick told USA Today. "It might be an extra day [during that week]."

While celebrity guests have yet to be officially announced, judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson will all be back with host Ryan Seacrest. All four have continuously been dishing about the hit series latest installment (as well as non-Idol related matters) during Idol's recent offseason, including who they saw as early favorites coming out of "the good, the bad, and the ugly" open auditions held from New York to California and everywhere in between.

"These are the savviest contestants we've ever seen. There's aggression, intensity, a bit of every man or woman for himself or herself," Seacrest told Entertainment Weekly. "They don't care about making friends. They want to make money."

Another topic that's come-up quite a bit is the presence of celebrity judges. After seeing celebrity judges in a diminished role during the fourth season and completely left out of last season, they will be back, with Jewel (Minneapolis), songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (Los Angeles) and Olivia Newton-John (New York) announced to appear as guest judges during the auditions.

With a slew of new off-air promotional partners, Idol 6 will premiere tomorrow night with a special two-hour debut featuring coverage of the competition's Minneapolis auditions, which will be followed by another two-hour episode on Wednesday night covering the Seattle tryouts. Five more Tuesday and Wednesday broadcasts covering the show's sixth season tryouts in Memphis, New York City, Birmingham, San Antonio and Los Angeles will follow, concluding with a "Rest of the Best" auditions broadcast on February 7.

Once the broadcasts of the regional tryouts are over, coverage of American Idol 6's Hollywood round will begin airing on Tuesday, February 13 at 8PM ET/PT, with the season's top 24 semifinalists -- 12 men and 12 women -- scheduled to be announced the following night. After the semifinalists are announced, the show's weekly performances and live eliminations will start, resulting in a three-week thrice-weekly Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursdaybroadcast schedule -- because Fox needs all the Idol it can get.

The twelve male semi-finalists will perform on Tuesday, February 20, followed by the twelve female semi-finalists on Wednesday, February 21, after which an hour-long live results show broadcast on Thursday, February 22 at 8PM ET/PT will send the two male and female singers who received the fewest votes home. The next two weeks will continue the same thrice-weekly format, ending with a live one-hour results show broadcast on Thursday, March 8 at 8PM ET/PT that will reveal the season's Top 12 finalists.

Warwick recently told USA Today that as the season whittles through its Top 12 finalists, a Beatles-themed episode may be in the works. He said that while a few Beatles songs have appeared on Idol in the past, the show has never had access to enough for a themed week. With permission from Sony, Beatles songs on Idol sound like a go. Ideally, he said the week's mentor would either be Paul McCartney or Beatles producer George Martin, but that has not yet been confirmed.

"Everyone wants Paul McCartney, and there's a chance this year. It would be fantastic to do the Beatles songbook," Cowell told Entertainment Weekly.

Once the finals begin, American Idol will resume the same broadcast schedule as in previous years, with the series' performance shows airing Tuesdays at 8PM ET/PT and its results shows airing Wednesdays at 9PM ET/PT. Not wanting to do battle with Idol and its legion of fans, ABC has already moved both Lost and the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars to different time slots.

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/fox-american-idol-returns-with-new-tweaks-more-shrieks-4565.php

[steffijo]

'American Idol's sixth season might feature Beatles-themed week


By Christopher Rocchio, 01/16/2007

What better way to impress American Idol's nationwide audience during the Fox mega-hit's sixth season than by having some of its contestants perform songs from the best-selling and most critically acclaimed band of the 20th century -- The Beatles.


For the first time, Idol has received permission to use parts of The Beatles' famed songbook, executive producer Ken Warwick said in yesterday's USA Today. According to Warwick, Idol received permission from Sony, which owns the songbook's publishing rights. While certain songs from the "Fab Four" are still off limits, Warwick said that shouldn't be an issue.

"[Sony] said, 'Tell us what songs you want and we will do our best,'" Warwick told USA Today.


A couple of Beatles songs have been performed on Idol in past seasons, but the Fox series has never had access to enough for a themed week, according to USA Today. However for the sixth season, Warwick said there are "enough songs certainly to get a decent show out of it, and maybe it will be the first show of the Top 12 [finalists]."

Usually artists who have their songs featured in final episodes of Idol also appear on the show to mentor and instruct the remaining contestants. Warwick said ideally, Paul McCartney or Beatles producer George Martin would be the mentor when The Beatles' songbook is performed, but added no such plans are in place just yet.

"Everyone wants Paul McCartney, and there's a chance this year. It would be fantastic to do the Beatles songbook," Idol judge Simon Cowell recently told Entertainment Weekly.

What? No love for Ringo Starr?

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/american-idol-sixth-season-might-feature-beatles-themed-week-4567.php

[steffijo]

'American Idol's serial auditioners won't take no for an answer


By Christopher Rocchio, 01/15/2007

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.


That's the motto of American Idol's serial auditioners, who despite being rejected countless times, continue to make their lack of talent known at annual tryouts held across the country for Fox's smash-hit reality competition series. Several of the show's "repeat offenders" talked about their often foolish determination in the January 22 issue of Newsweek.

"If I had the money, I'd go to every single audition," 22-year-old Tya Moore told Newsweek. This past August, Moore was rejected for the fifth time at the Pasadena Rose Bowl audition. "Every year I get better."


If you think Moore's five failed auditions are a bit excessive, consider 22-year-old Troy Sawyer, who first auditioned for Idol in 2002 when he drove from his home in Kansas City, MO to Detroit where he performed "Tonight I Want to Be Your Man." Finding no luck, he tried singing "Rockin' Robin" in Houston in 2003. He was rejected again, but this time he noticed some wannabes that were using gimmicks seemed to make it further, so that's what he did in 2004 when he donned Pillsbury Doughboy pajamas and sang "Soul Man" in St. Louis.

"I was told I had a really good voice, but I should take it more seriously and not dress up," Sawyer told Newsweek.

Taking the advice, Sawyer dropped the gimmick, and over the next two years he auditioned in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin, Denver, Las Vegas (again), Chicago and Memphis. "I don't have the Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera voice," Sawyer told Newsweek. "But I do have the personality that will charm America."

Sawyer seems to be channeling the spirit of William Hung, Idol's most famous reject who won the heart of Americans by singing Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" during his 2003 audition. Hung eventually landed a record deal.

"We laugh more at the deluded than we celebrate the talented," Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told Newsweek, explaining why the show "looks for the very best and very worst in each city." Added judge Paula Abdul, "Anybody can be famous now. It's like a disease."

Mimicking the outbreak of a highly infectious disease, the number of those considered to be an Idol serial auditioner grows with every season, and they take refuge in places like "Idol Reject," an online community founded by 30-year-old Larissa Jaye who auditioned twice in 2004.

"I've since started my own record label that will release my first album this spring," Jaye told Newsweek. "My whole philosophy is do-it-yourself. I'm not going to be held back."

While repeat offenders constantly stink-up Idol try-outs coast to coast, there is always the exception, because each failed audition may bring an aspiring singer closing to realize their dream. After a failed audition in 2002, Jessica Gordon lost 30 pounds and made it to Hollywood last year where she finished in the fifth season's Top 60.

"The judges told me, 'You should come back,'" Gordon told Newsweek. "I was thinking about going to business school, but I realized it's not too late for me to be a singer."


http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/american-idol-serial-auditioners-wont-take-no-for-an-answer-4562.php