Season 102011 ~UPD~
The tenth season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2011, and concluded on May 25, 2011, on the Fox television network. The show underwent a multitude of changes from the ninth season, including the return of Nigel Lythgoe as the executive producer.[2] Randy Jackson returned as judge for his tenth season while Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined the judging panel following the departures of Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres.
Season 102011
Programming changes affecting viewership, included a revision in the days of broadcast from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Wednesdays and Thursdays.[4] The show also opened up an option for viewers to cast their votes online through Facebook, allowing 50 votes per account. Specific changes in the competition itself included extending extra rounds (such as the Las Vegas show) and a final solo round, while also returning the judges' wild card choices. The show additionally lowered the age of eligibility to 15 years.[5] More contestants made it to Hollywood in the tenth season than in previous seasons.
On May 25, 2011, after 122.4 million votes were cast for the finale (and nearly 750 million votes for the seasonal total),[6] Scotty McCreery was crowned the winner of the tenth season of American Idol, making him the youngest male winner at 17 years and seven months old, and the second youngest winner ever behind sixth season winner Jordin Sparks. The tenth season was the first season where 11 contestants went on tour instead of 10.[7] Nine contestants from this season were signed to record labels. The signed artists are Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin, Casey Abrams, Stefano Langone, Pia Toscano, Naima Adedapo, and Jimmie Allen.[8]
Simon Cowell, who had been a judge since the first episode of the first season, announced on January 11, 2010, that he would not be returning as a judge for this season in order to focus on launching the American version of his hit British singing competition The X Factor.[9] Ellen DeGeneres officially announced her departure on July 29, 2010, after judging for only one season, because she felt the show was not the "right fit" for her.[10] Kara DioGuardi then announced on September 3, 2010, that she would also not return this season.[11] On September 22, 2010, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would join the judging panel.[12]
There were a number of other major changes in season ten, from the judges to the format of the show itself including the opening intro, which used the "Hall of Idols". Nigel Lythgoe returned as the executive producer, and Ray Chew has been hired as the show's new musical director, replacing Rickey Minor, who left the show along with vocal coach Dorian Holley to become the musical director of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[13] Peisha McPhee, mother of season 5's runner-up Katharine McPhee, joined as one of the vocal coaches.[14] In this season, online voting was also offered for the first time for fans with Facebook accounts; up to 50 votes may be cast.[15]
At the end of the ninth season, their affiliation with Sony Music Entertainment has ended and was replaced with Universal Music Group, meaning that the winner would now be signed to Interscope Records. Interscope's sister labels, A&M Records and Geffen Records, would also be involved in promoting and distributing the albums of the show's finalists.[23][24] Chairman of the Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group, Jimmy Iovine, worked directly with contestants this season as the in-house mentor.[24] Additionally, a team of Universal Music-associated producers and songwriters, such as Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Timbaland and Alex da Kid, also worked alongside the contestants to help them take on original arrangement and material. Some suggested changes, such as allowing the finalists to release music while the season is still in progress rather than waiting to record an album,[25] were not implemented, although music were released somewhat earlier than previous seasons.
The Hollywood week phase of the competition was held in the Pasadena Civic Center. There were a record-number 327 contestants in the first round, which lasted over two days, exceeding the second season's record of 234. The contestants emerged in groups of ten and each performed individually a cappella. After the whole group had finished their performances, those who failed were cut immediately. 168 advanced to the next round, where the contestants performed in groups; out of the 168, only 100 advanced to the next round. In the next round, the contestants performed solo, accompanied by a band or an instrument. The contestants were then separated into four rooms, with two of the four rooms containing eliminated contestants and the other two containing contestants who made it into the next round. Only 61 of the 100 remaining advanced.
Haley Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is from Wheeling, Illinois, and 20 years old at the time of the show. She originally auditioned in Chicago in the ninth season and did not advance to the Hollywood round. She auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with The Beatles' "Oh! Darling". She performed Corinne Bailey Rae's "Breathless" in the first solo round. In the group round she forgot her words of the song but still made it through, and in the Hollywood rounds she performed Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child". In the Las Vegas group round, she performed The Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road" with Naima Adedapo and Jacob Lusk. For her final solo she performed The Shirelles' song "Baby It's You". Reinhart was eliminated on May 19, coming in 3rd place. Reinhart was signed to Interscope Records after the show. Her first single, "Free", was released on March 20, 2012, and her debut album, Listen Up!, was released on May 22.
James Durbin (born January 6, 1989) is from Santa Cruz, California, and 22 years old at the time of the show. He originally auditioned in the eighth season and was not selected. He auditioned in San Francisco, California, with Muddy Waters's "You Shook Me" and Aerosmith's "Dream On". He performed The Beatles' "Oh! Darling" for his solo in the Hollywood round, Queen's "Somebody to Love" with the group "Deep Vees" in the group round and Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" for his final solo. He was the lead singer with a band The Hollywood Scars prior to Idol. He has Tourette and Asperger's syndromes. Durbin was eliminated on May 12, coming in 4th place. He was signed to Wind-up Records in with an album, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster released on November 21, 2011.
Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991) is from Idyllwild, California, and 20 years old at the time of show. He auditioned in Austin, Texas, with Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor". He impressed the judges with his performance of "Georgia on My Mind" in Hollywood week. He also performed Ella Fitzgerald's "Lullaby of Birdland", The Temptations' "Get Ready" with the group "Night Owls" in the Hollywood rounds, "A Hard Day's Night" with Chris Medina in the Las Vegas's Beatles round, and Kansas Joe McCoy's "Why Don't You Do Right?" for his final solo. He played the double bass and melodica on the show. He suffers from ulcerative colitis which resulted in him missing the Top 13 result show. He got the one judges' save of the season on the Top 11 show. Abrams was eliminated on April 28, coming in 6th place. Abrams was signed to Concord Music Group after the show.
Pia Toscano (born October 14, 1988) is from Howard Beach, New York, and 22 years old at the time of the show. She had auditioned for Idol four times before and made it through Hollywood in the sixth season and did not continue further. She auditioned in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was a make-up artist. She sang the national anthem at a Mets game. Pia Toscano and Karen Rodriguez get together to duet The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" on Las Vegas, they also went to New York's LaGuardia Arts School together. She also performed Bruno Mars's "Grenade" for the group round in Hollywood and Alicia Keys's "Doesn't Mean Anything" for her final solo. Toscano was eliminated on April 7, coming in 9th place. Toscano was signed to Interscope Records after the show, releasing her debut single "This Time" on July 11, 2011. Pia auditioned five times.
Thia Megia (born January 30, 1995) is from Mountain House, San Joaquin County, California, and 16 years old at the time of the show. She auditioned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Adele's "Chasing Pavements" and she turned 16 at the time of the show. Before her stint on American Idol, she previously competed on the fourth season of America's Got Talent, making it to the quarterfinals. She also participated in the YouTube edition of "We Are the World" along with 56 other YouTube artists, including American Idol eleventh season runner-up Jessica Sanchez. She performed "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" in the Hollywood rounds, "Here Comes the Sun" for the Las Vegas round with Melinda Ademi, and Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up" for her final solo. At 16 years and 1-month, she was the youngest contestant to reach the finals. Megia was eliminated on March 31, coming in a joint 10th place with Naima Adedapo.
Karen Rodriguez (born March 22, 1989) is from New York City and 21 years old at the time of show. She turned 22 years old soon after she got voted off. She was one of the Myspace auditioners and then auditioned in front of the judges in Los Angeles, California, with Whitney Houston's "You Give Good Love". She performed Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love", Bruno Mars's "Just the Way You Are" with Jovany Baretto in the group "Spanglish" for the Hollywood rounds, and Selena's "No me queda más" in the final round. She had previously appeared in the fifth season of a Puerto Rican talent show Objetivo Fama. Rodriguez was eliminated on March 17, coming in 12th place. 041b061a72