American Idol 11

American Idol 11 auditions hit San Diego, CA on Sunday and Monday for the last of the judges’ round auditions. And for something completely different, instead of holding the tryouts in a fancy hotel, Idol producers took the show to the historic USS Midway ship, holding approximately 60 auditions there.

Inside, get a look at the new set, featuring the “Wall of Idol” Guess which 2 former winners were relegated to the 1st floor? Uh huh. You probably guessed at leas one correctly.

The American Idol 11 crew, including Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Ryan Seacrest auditioned golden ticket winners in the golden triangle Wednesday and Thursday. Oh. That would be Pittsburgh, PA. It’s Idol’s first trip to the Steel City!

About 50 hopefuls auditioned Wednesday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, of which five or six had top-12 potential, according to Randy Jackson.

The American Idol 11 judges’ round auditions took place today at the Gavelston Island Convention Center and according to reports the judges are hoping for a female winner this year.

Good luck with that!

Rodney over at AJC whipped up an estimate of the number of hopefuls who attended American Idol auditions this summer, and noted the tally was down by 6%. I figured it was due to the lack of big cities on the list–no Los Angeles, New York or Philadelphia.

As it turns out, hopefuls will have a chance to audition in a big city, as Idol has announced an 8th audition stop.

UPDATE: Here’s the official Press Release announcing the judges return to Idol! Reportedly, Jennifer signed another 1 year contract.

American Idol debuts Sunday, Jan. 22 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), immediately following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME on FOX.

I guess that American Idol contract is a go, because Jennifer Lopez has arrived in Savannah, GA for the 1st round of Judges auditions today. A press conference for the judges and Ryan Seacrest is reportedly set for tomorrow.

That official press release from FOX announcing that all 3 judges and Ryan Seacrest will be returning to American Idol for Season 11 has got to be coming in the next couple of days.

A Savannah, newspaper is reporting that yellow ticket holders from the Charleston, SC auditions will be singing before the American Idol judges when auditions begin in that southern city later this week.