‘American Idol’ back on FOX8 in Australia, express from the US

The rebooted American Idol will be screened in Australia on FOX8, express from the United States.

It will be shown every Monday and Tuesday at 9:15pm (AEDT) from March 12.

Ryan Seacrest returns as host, with a judging panel of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and country music performer Luke Bryan.

Seacrest says they took a long time to put the right panel together, because they had to be more than just big names.

Talking to the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, he pointed out, “Something that was important to me…that there were going to be three or four stars on the show who weren’t just going to be individual stars, but were going to come on to collaborate.

“To take this seriously and to give the franchise what it deserves.

“The legacy of this franchise is important to fans, it’s important to us who have worked on it for a long time.”

The American Idol reboot too stays true to the format of the original show which ran between June 11, 2002 and April 7, 2016, and at its peak had 38 million Americans tuning in.

Then screened by FOX in America (and now on ABC), it launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Adam Lambert and Jennifer Hudson.

Seacrest on not tampering with the format: “It’s different obviously because of these personalities but the show, at its core, works.

“The format works in practice. We go out, we look for young talented people, they see the judges, they come back to Hollywood, and they’ll have to step up.

“There’s been a lot of talk about how is the show different.

“You’ve got three different faces, you’ve got different contestants, but to change the show drastically in terms of format would be a big mistake.”

The nationwide search for America’s next superstar kicked off in Portland, Oregon as the Idol Bus travelled to 23 cities across the US.

Auditioning was made easier than ever as hopefuls also had the opportunity to submit audition videos online, as well as via select social media platforms using an official tag, #TheNextIdol.

Also, for the first time in American Idol history, hopefuls had the opportunity to audition through a livestream platform.