American Idol returned for its seventh season when it aired on January 15, 2008 for a two day, four hour premier. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed small changes will be made in the show upon its return in 2008. It was reported that more attention will be paid to who the contestants are, where they come from, and why fans should care to vote for them. Nothing as dramatic as the songwriting competition or an age-limit change was planned for the season. Still, the executive producer owns up to the fact that season 6 took the focus away from the contestants, their backgrounds and their talent, and it needs to get back on track.
In Season 6, relatively little was known about the contestants, which was evident by the fact that Sanjaya’s hair was the biggest “personal” story of each week. While there are a couple of big changes planned, “fans shouldn’t fret” states Lythgoe. Despite cries that every season in the initial audition process the judges were cruel and mean, there will be little to no adjustments made to that part of the show. The contestants might be allowed to play their own instruments in the top 12, but Lythgoe hasn’t yet decided on that and wants to be careful to keep the competition fair for those who don’t have that skill. It is, after all, a singing competition. (Contestants on Canadian Idol and Australian Idol, similar competitions in Canada and Australia, are allowed to play instruments.)
As the return of American Idol drew close a former contestant spoke out about the show’s credibility. Season 5 sensation Chris Daughtry was quoted saying “I feel like it’s definitely lacking some credibility at this point. I’m sure that it will be used against me, but that’s the truth.”
“Idol Gives Back” raised more than $75 million last year for underprivileged children, and will return this year on April 9, 2008.
Auditions for the seventh season of American Idol began July 30.
The Auditions were held in the following cities:
San Diego, California: Qualcomm Stadium – July 30
Dallas, Texas: Texas Stadium – August 6
Omaha, Nebraska: Qwest Center – August 10
Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Dome – August 14
Charleston, South Carolina: North Charleston Coliseum – August 18
Miami, Florida: American Airlines Arena – August 22
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Wachovia Center – August 27
The top 10 will be decided on March 19 and the Finale is on May 21.
Season 7 Top 24 Contestants:
Female :
Asia’h Epperson, age 19
Alaina Whitaker, age 16
Alexandrea Lushington, age 16
Amanda Overmyer, age 23
Amy Jean Davis, age 25
Brooke White, age 24
Carly Smithson, age 24
Joanne Borgella, age 25
Kady Malloy, age 18
Kristy Lee Cook, age 24
Ramiele Malubay, age 20
Syesha Mercado, age 20
Male :
Chikezie Eze, age 22
Colton David Berry, age 17
Danny Noriega, age 18
David Archuleta, age 16
David Cook, age 25
David Hernandez, age 24
Garrett Haley, age 17
Jason Castro, age 20
Jason Yeager, age 28
Luke Menard, age 29
Michael Johns, age 29
Robbie Carrico, age 26
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