American Idol 2015

[XAtlantic]

When I was in Finland this summer I noticed that one of their (not very many) commercial channels is re-running American Idol S14: but interestingly, chopped down into daily 55-minute portions (minus commercials time). So you get about 3-4 performences with all that goes with each, and then it continues the next day. Finland has about 5.5 million inhabitants so they are not dubbing, it's with the original audio and subtitles.

[Miguel]

Nigel Lythgoe Returning to ‘American Idol’ for Final Farewell Episode

Longtime “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe is returning to the show’s farewell season to exec produce the final episode, Variety has learned exclusively.

...Though he was not involved with the long-running reality singing competition for its most recent 14th season, Lythgoe helped develop and was an original exec producer on “Pop Idol,” the British series, created by Simon Fuller, on which “American Idol” and the entire “Idol” franchise is based. Stateside, Lythgoe exec produced “American Idol” the from the debut season in 2002 through its seventh season in 2008, then returning for Season 10 through the thirteenth.

...Kinane commented, “Nigel is an incredibly talented producer who helped make ‘Idol’ an iconic television show. He was part of our ‘Idol’ family for many years and I’m delighted that he is joining our team for the final episode of the farewell season on Fox. It’s going to be an amazing finale to celebrate ‘Idol’s’ rich and ongoing legacy.”

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/nigel-ly...201647241/[/quote]

[Himm2]

Looks like American Idol has become the farm team for Postmodern Jukebox with the debut of Rayvon Owen brought up from the rookie A league (last season):

[john]

Sara Sturm ‏@SaraSturm 27m27 minutes ago
Ahhh @HaleyReinhart I never get tired of your voice

[Miguel]

Rayvon Owen came out as gay in a just released music video. On FB, his partner relates how his previous relationship had ties to Idol too, and how he met Rayvon. Haley gets a couple of mentions:

...During the 10th season, Tom and I randomly went to a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We were surprised and thrilled when Casey Abrams, a contestant from season 10, wound up being the musical guest. One week later, on May 7, 2011, I was catching up on episodes of season 10 while Tom was hanging out with our friend Alex. While I watched Haley Reinhart belt out Adele's “Rolling in the Deep,” I received a text from Alex that would change my life. She told me Tom had fallen from her roof and was being transported to the nearby hospital. A few hours later, Tom passed away.

My world fell apart and my grief was compounded by the fact that his family took his body to Indiana (his home state) without telling me, excluded me from planning the funeral, and ultimately banned me from attending the service, under threats of violence.

...Several months after Tom passed away, I decided to visit his gravesite in Indiana. By some crazy twist of fate, I sat next to Haley Reinhart on the plane. We made small talk, during which I told her about another strange American Idol connection: Alex’s boyfriend (now husband) had worked with and mentored Casey Abrams, who competed in the same season as her. Eventually Haley asked why I was making the trip; when I told her, she was very kind and sympathetic. Spending time with her strangely brought me a small amount of closure.