American Idol
After weeks of airing clips and some repetitions, the current competition of American Idol in the US returns to TV on Sunday, April 26 in a format made in remote, a true production challenge to bypass restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 20 best contestants that are chosen continue competing from their houses, the same as the presenter Ryan Seacrest, who took out of the garage the original American Idol desk he kept as a souvenir, and the judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, as well as the Pooley band.
The program is being set up with remote recordings from 45 locations, explained the executive producer, Trish Kinane, on the US press. They sent iPhone cameras and lighting kits to all the contestants who have been guided via Zoom and Skype on how and where to shoot their performances at home, building the set and how to apply their makeup and dress. Singing classes have continued this way, too.
The program will progress more rapidly. On Sunday, the group will be reduced to half. Only the final, with the results, will be aired live.
The auditions for the next season are supposed to start in summer and for this the classic bus tours the country looking for participants. They still don`t know if they will have to rethink the entire program from the beginning. The experience with American Idol will allow Fremantle to reevaluate the transformation of other formats according to the new normality.
