'American Idol' to Undergo Format Changes in 10th Season

ET Online is reporting that American Idol is slated to undergo formatting changes in its tenth season. Next season, along with the highly publicized departure of judge Simon Cowell, the series will be cutting the time of its weekly results show from an hour down to 30 minutes. American Idol is currently in its ninth season, which will have its season finale May 26th at 8:00PM on Fox.

American Idol is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted June 11, 2002 on the Fox network and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. It is currently the #1 TV show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of only three that have been #1 for five consecutive seasons. The cast of Idol includes judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, and Ellen Degeneres, and host Ryan Seacrest.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions, and subsequent viewer voting. Through telephone voting, America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen.

Several Idol contestants have been seen on the Broadway stage, including Barrino (The Color Purple), Hicks (Grease), Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray, Hair), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Tamyra Gray (Rent, Bombay Dreams), Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer, Rock of Ages), and Ace Young (Hair).

American Idol airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on Fox at 8PM EST.

For more information, visit AmericanIdol.com.