Idol Age Limit Raised

American Idol has raised the age limit for competitors from 26 to 28, as auditions for season 4 are set to begin in August in Cleveland, according to the Idol site:

REVISED RULES TEXT

“AMERICAN IDOL” SEASON 4

MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

You must be a legal U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident, 16 to 28 years old on August 4, 2004, who is eligible to work in the United States.

You are ineligible if, as of the date of your audition, you have any type of contract for talent representation (for example, a talent agent or manager), a music recording contract, an acting contract, a merchandising agreement, or any other contractual arrangement that would prohibit you from entering into a management contract, recording contract, talent contract, acting contract and/or merchandising contract. You are also ineligible if you made it to the top 30 contestants of Season 1 of “America Idol” or the top 32 contestants of Seasons 2 or 3 of “American Idol.”

Employees, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, representatives, and their immediate family members and those living in the same household of Fox Broadcasting Company, American Idol Productions, Inc., FremantleMedia North America, Inc., 19 TV Ltd., AT&T, Telescope, BMG, RCA Records, Arista Records, production personnel for the television program, participating television stations, advertising agencies, corporate sponsors or any person or entity connected with the production, administration or judging of the auditions, or any of their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents or representatives are not eligible.

THE AUDITION PROCESS

When to Line Up: ALL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE AUDITIONS IS TENTATIVE AT THIS TIME. AUDITION CITIES AND/OR DATES MAY CHANGE. IF THE PAST THREE SEASONS ARE ANY INDICATION, WE ARE EXPECTING A HUGE TURNOUT IN EACH CITY. YOU SHOULD THEREFORE PLAN ON ARRIVING AS EARLY AS ALLOWED AT THE AUDITION VENUE IN YOUR AREA. CONTINUE TO CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT idolonfox.com FOR FURTHER DETAILS. KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE SEEN FOR AN AUDITION.

Locations, Dates and Time: It is anticipated that auditions will start no later than 8:00 a.m. on the first audition day in each city. If you are not in line well before 8:00 a.m., your chances of being seen will be slim to none (unless otherwise requested by producer). Even if you are in line before 8:00 a.m., producers cannot guarantee that you will be seen for an audition. Tentative audition cities are Cleveland, Orlando, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Anchorage on the dates listed below. THESE LOCATIONS, DATES AND TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please continue to check our website at idolonfox.com for the most up-to-date audition schedule.

AUDITION TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

August 2004:

Cleveland, Ohio
CLEVELAND BROWNS STADIUM
100 Alfred Lerner Way
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
Line-up: Begins on the North Patio (off West 3rd Street)
Parking: Nearby stadium parking lots
August 3, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
August 4, 2004: Actual auditions

Washington, D.C.
Location TBA
August 17, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
August 18, 2004: Actual Auditions

Orlando, Florida
Location TBA
August 25, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
August 26, 2004: Actual Auditions

St. Louis, Missouri
Location TBA
Dates to come

September 2004:

New Orleans, Louisiana
Location TBA
August 30, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
August 31, 2004: Actual Auditions

Las Vegas, Nevada
Location TBA
September 11, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
September 12, 2004: Actual Auditions

Anchorage, Alaska
Location TBA
September 27, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
September 28, 2004: Actual Auditions

October 2004:

San Francisco, California
Location TBA
October 4, 2004: No one will be allowed to line up prior to 6:00AM
October 5, 2004: Actual Auditions

What to Bring to the Auditions: Two forms of identification that show proof of your age and a photograph (for example, a birth certificate and driver’s license or a birth certificate and a passport or a birth certificate and a school ID card). If you are under 18 years of age, you must be accompanied by your parent or legal guardian. If you are accompanied by a legal guardian (as opposed to a parent), your legal guardian must bring proof of guardianship. Print out and sign the release form provided at idolonfox.com. Release forms will also be available at the audition venue.

What to Wear to the Auditions: Please do not wear any clothing items, revealing any tattoos, bearing designer, sports or any other logos or brand names, or bearing the name or likeness of a celebrity, living or dead. If you do wear such clothing, you may be required to remove it or turn it inside out or put on additional clothing.

What to Sing at the Auditions: Be prepared to sing a cappella (without music) a song of your choice. If you are called back for the first recall, you may be asked to sing two songs a cappella. One song must be selected from a list that will be provided to you by the producer prior to the first recall and the other song, if requested by producer, may be a song of your choice. All rules and procedures are subject to change at producer’s sole and absolute discretion.

Rules In Line: You MUST be in line by 8:00 a.m. on the first audition day in your city. Even if you are in line by 8:00 a.m., there is no guarantee that you will be seen for an audition. Producers reserve the right to audition people out of order of their place in line. Due to space limitations, please do not bring more than two people to the audition with you who will not also be auditioning; however, you should be aware that ONLY ONE FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER in addition to the person being auditioned will be admitted into the interior of the stadium. Also, no one under the age of 13 will be allowed to camp out overnight at any venue. PLEASE BE COURTEOUS TO OTHER PEOPLE IN LINE. Do not cut in line. If we discover that you have cut in front of another person in line, you will be disqualified from the audition process. Also, you may not hold a place in line for another person for an extended period of time.

Wristbands: It is currently anticipated that wristbands, or some other form of identification, will be handed out to those people chosen by the producers to continue in the audition process. IF YOU RECEIVE A WRISTBAND FROM THE PRODUCERS, YOU MUST NOT GIVE THE WRISTBAND TO ANOTHER PERSON. YOU ALSO MUST NOT ACCEPT A WRISTBAND FROM ANYONE OTHER THAN THE PRODUCTION STAFF AND YOU MUST NOT REMOVE YOUR WRISTBAND UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO BY PRODUCER. IF IT IS FOUND THAT YOU RECEIVED YOUR WRISTBAND FROM SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE PRODUCTION STAFF, OR THAT YOUR WRISTBAND HAS BEEN TAMPERED WITH IN ANY MANNER, YOU WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED FROM THE AUDITION PROCESS.

Paperwork: You will be required to fill out, sign and agree to all of the terms and conditions of our required forms. Some of the forms will be available on our website at idolonfox.com. Forms will also be available at the audition locations. Any family or friends who come with you to the auditions should also be prepared to sign releases concerning the possible taping and/or recording of their name, likeness, voice, conversation, etc. If you advance in the competition, you will be required to fill out, sign and agree to all of the terms and conditions of additional forms, including a talent management contract, recording contract and merchandising contract. You may also be subject to a thorough background investigation and other examinations, at producer’s discretion. If you are under 18 years of age, both you and your parent or legal guardian must sign each of the forms and cooperate in having the forms court approved, if and when requested by producer….

In addition, a spokesperson for the show said they will not be changing the voting method:

Despite viewer complaints that congested telephone lines made it difficult for them to vote in the competition, no changes are planned, [Fox programming chief Gail] Berman said.

“The phone system is probably the most sophisticated phone system ever put together in the country. It allows for the most participation that we could figure out how to do in a household,” Berman said.

Limiting homes to one call each would prevent individual family members from backing their favorite, she added. [AP]