American Idol
News (Page 2)

Take an inspiring personal story, mix it up with a great voice and a cute personality and you get Haeley Vaughn.

The 16-year old auditioned for American Idol in Denver this week and said she wants to be one of the only "black country pop" singers around.

She's off to a good start, as Vaughn impressed the judges with a rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Last Name." Watch the try-out, and learn more about the singer's premature birth and family tragedy, below.

Continue Reading...

We don't know a lot about Andrew Garcia, except for this: Dude can sing!

The aspiring season nine contestant tried out for American Idol in Los Angeles this week and received approval from all four judges for Hollywood.

Garcia is part of a band called The Adrian William Project and hails from Moreno Valley, California. He also has a son named Caeland.

Check out Andrew's audition below and chime in with your thoughts on this singer:

On this week's Orlando audition-based episode of American Idol, viewers met Matt Lawrence.

The burly Florida singer had an impressive personal story to share: he left home at the age of 15 and was eventually arrested for robbery, spending four years in jail.

So, why is he trying out?

“I wanna do something that will put a smile on [my parents'] face ten times more than I made them cry,” he said, prior to wowing judges with an audition that Simon referred to as "brilliant."

Check it out below:

Continue Reading...

A sultry, soulful voice? Check.

A cute look? Check.

A sad personal story? Check.

For all these reasons and more, Katelyn Epperly stood out the most at this week's Chicago auditions for American Idol.

Watch her performance in front of Simon Cowell and company below and let us know if you'll be voting for her in Hollywood:

Continue Reading...

Of the 25 golden ticket recipients in Atlanta on last night's American Idol episode, Jermaine Sellers stood out the most.

It's easy to explain why:

The 26-year old takes care of his mom, who has a diseased called spina bifida, and works as a church choir singer. He's also got a great voice, as evidenced in the following video.

Visit our friends at TV Fanatic for a rundown of the Atlanta auditions and check out Jermaine below.

Continue Reading...

Season nine of American Idol kicked off in Boston last night.

As usual, the opening set of auditions was comprised of more busts than breakthroughs, but a few names, faces and voices stood out.

Foremost among them was Justin Williams. The aspiring singer advanced to the top 50 in Hollywood a year ago, but has his sights set on a bigger prize this year.

A cancer survivor, Williams will likely be a fan favorite over the next few weeks. Watch his audition below.

Continue Reading...

A few weeks ago, American Idol announced its ninth season would premiere on January 12.

But Fox has now gone a few steps further and released a few important dates for the show. Along with the elimination of the Wild Card round, the competition will also return to its 24 semifinalist format.

Below, we've listed the series' upcoming schedule:

• Tuesday, Jan. 12: Boston Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 13: Atlanta Auditions
• Tuesday, Jan. 19: Chicago Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 20 Orlando Auditions Episode
• Tuesday, Jan. 26: Dallas Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 27: Los Angeles Auditions
• Tuesday, Feb. 2: Denver Auditions
• Wednesday, Feb. 3: “The Road to Hollywood” Auditions (Ellen DeGeneres debuts)
• Tuesday, Feb. 9: Hollywood Round, Part 1
• Wednesday, Feb. 10: Hollywood Round, Part 2
• Tuesday, Feb. 16: Hollywood Round, Part 3
• Wednesday, Feb. 17: Hollywood Round, Part 4 (Semifinalists Announced)
• Tuesday, Feb. 23: Top 12 Women Perform
• Wednesday, Feb. 24: Top 12 Men Perform
• Thursday, Feb. 25: First Results Show
• Tuesday, March 2: Top 10 Women Perform
• Wednesday, March 3: Top 10 Men Perform
• Thursday, March 4: Results Show
• Tuesday, March 9: Top 8 Women Perform
• Wednesday, March 10: Top 8 Men Perform
• Thursday, March 11: Results Show (Finalists revealed)

As a post-Emmy Award party this week, Kara DioGuardi made it very clear: she's completely behind the selection of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge on American Idol.

"I think it's a genius decision," DioGuardi said. "I wish I had thought of it."

Kara added:

"I know a little bit about Ellen from watching her show and I would say she would probably be somebody who would be fair in her criticism and will try to be as supportive as she possibly could... I was on her show once and she's lovely, generous, very kind. I think it's going to be great."

Do you agree? Or do you wish American Idol had chosen someone else?

In a shocking move, American Idol announced a new fourth judge yesterday: comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Following fan and critic reaction, viewers started to wonder how Paula Abdul - who resigned her post in August when she could not reach a contract agreement with the show - would react to the news. She isn't exactly the most stable person on the planet, after all.

But Abdul Tweeted the following message late yesterday, show grace, humility and poor spelling:

"I think Ellen will b a gr8 judge on Idol. She is wildly funny, talented and I wish her the best of luck!"

Last year's new judge, Kara DioGuardi, also reacted well to the Ellen news. She said:

"She's somebody who loves music, she's positive, she loves kids... She is somebody who has watched the show from the beginning, knows everything there is to know about American Idol and I think ultimately it's going to be a great new energy."

We'll find out when the series returns in January.

Many critics disparage American Idol for not being an actual singing competition.

The latest show news isn't bound to change their point of view: the series has tapped Ellen DeGeneres to replace Paula Abdul as the permanent fourth judge.

Over the first round of auditions, singers such as Victoria Beckham and Mary J. Blige have served as guest judges alongside Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson. But they're keeping a seat warm for Ellen when Idol moves to Hollywood.

Simon Fuller, the creator and executive producer of American Idol, applauded his choice of Ellen:

"I could not be more excited to have Ellen join the American Idol family. Ellen has been a fan of the show for many years, and her love of music and understanding of the American public will bring a unique human touch to our judging panel. I can't wait for this next season to begin."

DeGeneres, who will continue to host her talk show, echoed that sentiment. Distancing herself from any sort of singing expertise, she said:

"I’ve watched since the beginning, and I’ve always been a huge fan... Hopefully, I’m the people’s point of view because I’m just like you. I sit at home and I watch it. I’m not looking at it in a critical way from the producer’s mind. I’m looking at it as a person who is going to buy the music and is going to relate to that person."

Paula Abdul could not come to a contract agreement with the show, bidding it farewell in August. Think Ellen is a good choice for her replacement?