It seems those behind American Idol are not too sure about two of the American Idol judges. Those two being the female judges on the show. Paula Abdul’s contract is up now, and Kara Dioguardi only had a one year contract. American Idol isn’t sure it wants either back for season nine, so they might do auditions a bit differently this year. Instead of one trip through the cities, there might end up being two.

The contestants would need to get passed the first round selection process before they even see the judges. This might change up the audition process for American Idol significantly. We might not see as many of the weird contestants that come on the series in the first round. No Simon to bash them. Paula has never been my favorite judge, but I think she adds something to the series. However, it might be time for her to move on. What do you think? Does American Idol need a new set of judges? Or are they fine as they are for when season nine hits.

The next big change has to do with the Hollywood Round. This has been expanded from one week to two weeks. More Hollywod time means we will have more contestants. Instead of twenty-four contentants, thirty-six will be chosen to go forward from the Hollywood round. The American public will start being allowed to vote on February 17th. That is when things usually get interesting.

I’m not much of a fan of the lead up to the voting. I can really do without all of the auditions and the Hollywood round is where I start getting interested. Things have been interesting during American Idol’s off season, and with these new changes in store there is even more interest in what will happen next. Paula Abdul has also caused chaos this off-season with events in her life. A stalker of hers that once appeared on American Idol killed herself outside of Abdul’s home. No matter what though American Idol is coming back. Are you ready for it?

A new judge has been added to the mix. None of our current judges are leaving or taking any time off. Not this season anyway. Simon, Randy and Paula will still be around to give their thoughts of the contestants, but now a fourth voice is being added to the mix. That voice belongs to Grammy nominated songwriter Karo DioGuardi. She has worked with the likes of Christina Aguilera and former American Idol Kelly Clarkson. This adds some more girl power to the panel, which is something Paul Abdul is thrilled about.

As a fan of American Idol, I’m excited to see what other changes are in store for this upcoming season. As I have mentioned on this blog previously, some changes are definitely needed. The opening weeks of the series with all the auditions is one change I would like to see. These need to be shortened or cut entirely. The real meat of the competition starts with Hollywood week, and after tuning in for the first week of auditions, I usually tune out until the series hits Hollywood. I know I’m not the only one.

The Idols are getting ready to head out on tour today. The city will hit forty-nine cities over the next seventy-two days. The tour opens up in Phoenix, Arizona, which is one of the cities American Idol will hold auditions at this year. No stop in Los Angeles, but for those in California, San Francisco is also a stop. Phoenix might be just a bit closer. Some of the other cities included as stops this year are San Juan, Puerto Rico and East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Some interesting choices this year. I don’t recall the judges leaving the continental United States to hold auditions before. This might lead to some new talent. I am excited to see what changes Fox and the producers make with the show. It is a still a hot ticket, but there are improvements that could be made. Shortening the airing of the audition process on television among them. For a full list of dates and cities to try out for American Idol, check after the jump.

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What do you think about American Idol? Do you like it how it is now or do you think some changes can be made? As a fan and view of the show, I think there is always room for improvement. My attention goes to the audition round which plays on our television screens for the first month of American Idol. Yes, I love a good bad audition scene as much as anyone, but four weeks of them always gets boring. Other series of this type of shortened their audition process on air. I really think it is time for American Idol.

However, I’m not sure if lowering the age requirement for the show is a good idea. Yes, there are some amazing younger singers, but if you go too young, they might not be able to handle the pressure of a full season of performing and being judged. David Archuleta, at 17, is one of the youngest to be on the series, and you could tell he was overwhelmed. Imagine if he had auditioned and made it onto the show earlier?

What do you think?

Last night, we saw the two finalists, David Archuleta and David Cook, spotlighted as they performed with the rest of this years contestants. We had appearances by such musical greats as Donna Summer, Bryan Adams and George Michael. They joined the Idol contestants as they all sang songs by the respective singers. The finale is two hours long, and at times this did feel too long, but the guest appearances made the finale worth watching.

When it was all said and done, we had David Cook announced this year’s American Idol. He won by a margin of twelve million votes. A total of over ninety-seven million votes were cast in the finale vote. This was a new record for voting for American Idol. It crushed the old number by twenty-three million.

American Idol will return next year with some changes in store. Fox is keeping quiet on these changes for now, but they have been taking a hard look at the series in recent weeks to make it even better for next year. They did this to regain the loss in viewers they had this year. A loss that doesn’t mean all that much because American Idol is still one of the top shows on television today.

This week Marissa Jaret Winokur was picked to go home. She has been a great asset to the series this season with her bubbly personality. She showed the American viewers that you don’t have to be skinny to dance and dance well. She just doesn’t have the skill to match up to the others still remaining in the competition at this point. Many are shocked she made it passed Mario and Shannon Elizabeth.

As for American Idol, this week the final three fought it out for the final two spots in next week’s finale. They each sang three songs each. One picked by the judges, one they picked themselves, and one picked for them by the producers. During their performances, it was easy to see who would be sent home this week just by the judge’s comments.

Syesha Mercado packed her bags this week, and this means we will see David Archuleta and David Cook in next week’s finale. This is something I have been predicting for weeks now. These two stand out the most, and it will be interesting to see just what they end up doing next week. Archuleta has been the one with most of the buzz surrounding him because of his father. He has been asked by the producers to not help his son with his song choices or performance preparations. Young David is all on his own.

Jason Castro had already said before this week’s performances that he was ready to go home, and his performances showed this lack of enthusiasm. He even messed up lyrics during one of his performances, and this caused judge Simon Cowell to tell him to pack his bags. Something he said he did last night when asked about him possibly going home. This attitude only proved to me that Jason should have gone home weeks before this. I’m not sure how he remained in the competition as long as he did. He let the fans that had kept voting for him the last few weeks down by his total lack of wanting to win when he had reached so far in the competition.

Now we are down to three, and we have no clear favorite among those three left. Fifty-one million votes were cast, and those in the top three were only one million apart. I still stand behind my belief that we will see David Cook and David Archuleta in the finale. Syesha is talented, but I see her heading to Broadway. She has those talents set for her, as we have seen in recent weeks. Ratings for American Idol are still on the slide, but it continues to win its time slot each week.

This led to a much talked about moment as Paula Abdul had a moment of confusion where she is talking about Jason Castro singing two songs. He had only performed once. Several excuses have been brought forth since the night the show aired. Everything from Paula having seen rehearsals to her just being confused. Each of the contestants did well this week, but one had to be sent home. This week the show ended for Brooke White. She has been a favorite of mine this season, and it was hard to see her go.

Each and every week I keep asking myself how Jason Castro is still in the competition. He can sing, but his style isn’t my taste. I thought for sure after his performances this week and the judge’s comments, we would see him go home. Once again, he was saved from elimination. I know I’m not the only one asking this question. He has stayed long after some eliminations that people thought would still be there now. With the contestants now left in the competiition, I do agree with Paula Abdul about David Cook. He is my pick for this year’s American Idol. Syesha will make it to Broadway someday soon. David Archuleta is great as well, and I foresee a finale between the two David’s this year.

As for American Idol, the producers are already looking ahead to next season, and they have gone to the fans to ask what they think. Rumor is we might lose the audition round, at least on television. The series might start next year with the Hollywood round, showing the audition process only in flashback. Now this is an idea. I have always thought the month long airing of the auditions was the weakest part of the show. I know we need auditions, but showing them for four weeks is just tedious. Cutting down the amount of auditions shown or getting rid of them altogether on television is an idea. I can see a week or two auditions, but four has always been stretching it in my mind. We’ll have to see what changes are made to American Idol next year.

Carly Smithson, an Irish native, was the one sent home on last night’s show after singing a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. It was one of her best performances in my opinion, and I was certainly shocked to see her exit the competition at this point. There were others that I feel should have been sent home in her place. Jason’s performance of Memory on this week’s show was criticized by all the judges, and I thought for sure it had earned him a trip into the bottom two. He was safe.

This is the second shocking elimination this season. Michael Johns was eliminated just a couple of weeks ago, and I’m sure no one saw that one coming. Things will only continue to heat up in the weeks ahead as we get closer to naming this year’s American Idol. Next week, the five remaining contestants will sing songs by Neil Diamond. Who will shine next week and who will be sent home? Will we have another shocker? We’ll have to wait and find out.