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Revamped ‘American Idol’ Auditions To Take Over Disney World

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 04:53 PST, May 12, 2017

American Idol auditions are officially moving to Disney World. Hours after ABC was declared to be the victorious winner to bring back American Idol on TV, the network announced auditions would be taking place at the iconic Disney theme park.

“We’re live at Disney World and this is American Idol.”

Let that phrase roll around in your mouth, because that’s exactly what ABC viewers will be hearing next spring when the revamped American Idol arrives on their TV.

TMZ reported that Disney World in Orlando has been chosen to host American Idol auditions when the singing competition show returns on TV next spring.

The report cites two reasons why ABC decided to move American Idol auditions to Walt Disney World: to promote both ABC and its corporate parent Walt Disney with its amusement parks; and as a cost-effective solution.

Disney World hosting American Idol auditions can help American Idol and ABC save a great amount of money, as it’s a cost-effective alternative to traveling the singing competition show to various cities.

But American Idol auditions won’t be limited to only Disney World in Orlando, as there is also talk about holding some auditions at Disneyland on the West Coast. In such a way, American Idol contestants will be traveling to one or two destinations throughout the show’s auditions, not the other way around.

In doing so, ABC is trying to steer clear of the mistakes made by Fox, the original network that hosted American Idol for 15 years, and avoid another financial disaster. The singing competition show had to go off the air after airing its 15th Season last year because it became too expensive to produce.

And now ABC, fresh off its acquisition of rights to American Idol, is trying to be more rational about its spending on American Idol auditions. In 2013 alone, Fox spent a staggering $40 million on its judges panel, including $18 million on Mariah Carey and $12 million on Nicki Minaj, according to the Daily Mail.

While it may be troublesome for some American Idol potential contestants to get to Disney World in Orlando, ABC has also chosen Disneyland on the West Coast to serve as an alternative cost-effective venue for American Idol auditions.

ABC looking for cost-effective ways to host American Idol auditions shows that the network wants to avoid the financially-irrational mistakes made by Fox in the past.

That begs the question: will ABC also be looking for cost-effective American Idol judges?

There has been talk about casting Kelly Clarkson, the first ever winner on American Idol, as a judge for the new American Idol season in 2018. Sources told TMZ that ABC expressed “serious interest” in Clarkson. However, it has since been announced that Clarkson has chosen to appear as a judge on rival singing show The Voice, rather than her alma mater, American Idol.

That means: potentially no more not-really-cost-effective judges such as Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, and Simon Cowell.

While the decision to move American Idol auditions to Disney World has already been met with criticism on social media (the move is cost-effective for ABC, but not so cost-effective for people looking to audition for American Idol), the new set for auditions means that ABC is looking to introduce a fresh look on the show.

Disney World hosting American Idol auditions will also likely set a precedent to have Disney-themed performances on the show – a move that would surely help American Idol contestants score some bonus points from ABC-selected judges.

Disney World being the destination for American Idol auditions also means that American Idol contestants could be offered the chance to select songs from Disney’s magical song catalog.

American Idol arrives on ABC with all new episodes – as well as the new set, judges, contestants, and much more – in spring 2018.

[Featured Image by spatuletail/Shutterstock]

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