Randy Jackson - live on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Guy didn't even try to be politically correct.

Throughout the 10 minutes of rambling, Randy Jackson's interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live can be summed up like this:

"We've got loads of talent this year, I say it every year but we've got LOADS OF TALENT THIS YEAR."

Okay, good. Now deliver. The season premiere has gotten good reviews so far. I haven't watched it yet but what do you guys think of it?

The American Idol panel live on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Hoping not only the hardcore Idol fans will be tuning in to check out Idol's tenth season, the American Idol panel and Ryan Seacrest sat down for an interview with Jay Leno where they talked about everything from the new season and behind the scenes of the new season. It was pretty much basically pimping the youngsters and the 'outstanding' talent in Milwaukee. Yeah yeah. They've got chemistry though.

Check out Part 1 above and Part 2 below.

Big News: American Idol releases new promo + New 'Sudden Death' round?

American Idol has been nailing every single one of the promotional videos lately, good thing. Because they might need it. After a lacklustre Season 9, following a huge mess regarding the judging panel, and Simon Cowell leaving the show and bringing his massive UK hit show The X Factor to the States, the future of American Idol was and still is rather uncertain. Nevertheless, Idol is pulling out all the stops to make sure Idol's Season 10 doesn't fall too hard. In the promo video above, you can see some pretty good auditionees (though only one singer was featured), and another hopeful that looks startingly similar to Charity Vance who auditioned last year but failed to breeze through Hollywood Week. I'm thinking it's her, because there are people buzzing online thhat it isn't.

Also, Idol's exec producer Nigel Lythgoe who returned to the show this year, has tweeted that "We’re rehearsing with the Idol contestants, the first time this year. I’m still very happy with the overall standard. Tough decisions ahead." This is the "rumoured" 'Sudden Death' round that surfaced online earlier where we'll see the Top 40 cut to the Top 20. Hmmmm.

Also, a report from Daily Mail has said that Simon Cowell has signed Will Smith as a judge. First off, don't think this one is true. Secondly, I laughed a bit because I read 'Willow Smith'.

Big News: What's American Idol Season 10 going to be like?

With Simon Cowell firmly determined to bring American Idol down and snatch their ratings away with his very own show The X Factor which has already been adapted in many different countries. The UK version has produced talents such as Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke and most recently, Matt Cardle. Wherever Simon goes, people will be watching. So, American Idol has got to step it up to prevent their ratings from sinking any further.

What are the big changes?

#1: Bringing the age limit down to 15
At first, I wasn't and still am not too keen on this idea. For every Allison Iraheta, Jordin Sparks and David Archuleta, there were a thousand Aaron Kellys. They just weren't ready. Traditionally, American Idol has attracted a couple typical groups of youngsters - the indies, the "pageant bots", and those that are just good. But of course, to attract a younger demographic, Idol desperately needs their Justin Biebers and Taylor Swifts.

Randy Jackson has said that some of the 15 year olds have been impressive. If impressive means Allison Iraheta, hell yes.



If it's a One Direction/Justin Bieber/Aaron Kelly thing, no thanks.

#2: The big shake up in format
With Nigel Lythgoe back, he's keen on shaking up Idol and is going to bring back the spice. Which means there'll be many, many, many changes in format. According to Lythgoe, the traditional Top 24/36 semi-final rounds will be eliminated and they will go straight into the Top 12 instead.

And if that's not enough, there might be online voting and a wildcard round.

Also, he has confirmed via Twitter that the contestants will be living in one house, X Factor-style. OH. DEAR.

Also, they want to limit the instruments used on the show. Basically they don't want another David Cook, Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze.

#3: The promo videos
The promo videos released by Idol in time for next season have been fantastic. Instead of focusing on the jokers, they've been focusing on promising talent which is always nice to see. Plus, you can see chemistry between the judges.



The past winners of Idol all shot their promo videos and it shows a small-town to big stage kind of story, which is really, really nice to see. They're finally getting these right.









Excited?

Big News: The Idol panel is unveiled!

Quick! Let's pretend we completely didn't see this coming! The industry's worst kept secret ever, the new Idol judging panel has finally been confirmed. Yes, so it'll include Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez & Steven Tyler. Honestly, I don't mean to be superficial but what is up with Steven's face? Anyway, I really think this panel wouldn't work, but the three of them dropped by Ryan Seacrest's radio station and they actually have a little chemistry going on.



Interested to see how this panel will work on live television though.

Big News: Kara DioGuardi has left the Idol panel

As much as I didn't want this to happen, it happened. Kara DioGuardi will no longer be on the Idol judging panel. News of her being fired months ago floated about the net, but now it's confirmed. She WON'T be returning to Idol's next season.

In a statement released by Fox, DioGuardi said, "I felt like I won the lottery when I joined American Idol two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave Idol. I am very proud to have been associated with American Idol– it has truly been an amazing experience. I am grateful to Fox, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, as well as the cast, crew and contestants, for all they have given to me. I look forward to my next challenge and want to thank everyone who has supported me. All the best to everyone on Season 10!"

Of course, the rest of the press release contains compliments from the Idol execs, but this is bad news. Really bad. I get it. She was awkward, a little annoying at times, but she knew 100% what she was saying. She was a strong judge but was always swallowed whole by Simon Cowell (who has left) and I thought that with Simon gone, she'd be the one to replace the judge who always knew what he was talking about. Now she's gone.

What's next, FOX!?

Source: HERE

Big News: American Idol tour ends

After a less than stellar season 9, American Idol is looking to spice things up for the next Season. But most of all, what Idol needs ultimately is fresh talent. I think I've seen quite enough of male singers with a guitar in hand. Oh. In some Idol news, it appears that the rumour mill has started again with Steven Tyler an apparent done deal for Idol (Urgh..) and J.Lo has also signed on (Oh ho, will Mariah & Kara be so ever disappointed..) to judge the new Season of talent. Nothing much has really surrounded Randy Jackson's position on the judging table so I assume he's resuming his role on the panel. But however, while the Top 3 of Season 9 have all secured recording deals with major labels, the rest.. Well. We'll see. Well, now that the tour is officially over, it means Michael Lynche, Tim Urban, Siobhan Magnus and Andrew Garcia are probably going to end up as Idol rejects while the others still have a bit of chance to make it big in the industry. Make no mistake, I love those 4, but do we really see them making it big in the industry? Michael Lynche? Err.. Nope. Tim? Needs more substance. Siobhan? Where oh where can she possibly fit in the industry? Andrew? One of a billion YouTube stars. Just a tad too bland for my liking.

Now, watch 17 year old Katie Stevens strut her stuff on Christina Aguilera's Fighter. Or headbanding on Demi Lovato's Here We Go Again.



Someone sign her, please. Please. And most importantly, give her good advice.

Big News: Mariah's Christmas album due in stores November!

Katharine McPhee's not the only one with a Christmas album due this year. R&B/pop diva Mariah Carey has a concrete release date for her second Christmas album, November 10th. The album will be the usual Christmas album fare, covers of classics, originals etc. but guess what? Her iconic Christmas single All I Want For Christmas Is You will be reworked! I hope the new version will be more diva-ish will all the vocal acrobatics. Personally, I think this would be good for Mariah despite the comparisons to her first Christmas album.

Oh, in other random Mariah news, she's apparently in talks to be a judge on the American Idol panel. No, no, no. This will hurt her career. Bring back Kara!

Source: HERE