Every year, tens of thousands of hopefuls descend on the nation-wide auditions for American Idol. It's the unenviable job of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi to winnow the wheat from the chaff and whittle that number down to something more manageable. Assisting them this season are rotating guest judges Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, Shania Twain and Kristin Chenoweth. This year, auditions were held in Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago and Orlando.
This year Ellen DeGeneres will share judging duties during season nine. She was asked to step in after Paula Abdul left the show over a contract dispute. Ellen's quirky sense of humor and love of music will surely be a welcome addition. Each season the viewers share in the auditioning process, shaking their heads in disbelief at some of the poor, deluded souls who embarrass themselves on national TV, and getting their first glimpse of some of the season's shining stars. Winners who survive this first round are given golden tickets to the Hollywood audition. There they'll have another chance to prove themselves worthy of inclusion in the top 20 competitors for the official season.
The judges will chip away at that number over five successive weeks until only 10 remain. From that point on, it's up to the America people to decide which singer is their favorite, and the next American Idol. They can phone or text their votes in, and the results are shown the following night when the two contestants who received the fewest votes lose their place among the contestants. Grand prize is a recording contract from RCA. Past winners have also received a Ford car.
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