American Idol Season 9 | featured news

Fox says Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler will be joining Randy Jackson as "American Idol" judges.

A new lineup of judges has yet to be announced, with Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez the reported front-runners.

Hitfix has confirmed that “American Idol” winner Lee DeWyze and runner up Crystal Bowersox have already secured record deals.

Wednesday's finale of "American Idol" handily beat the ratings competition but the audience of 24.2 million was about 15% smaller than last year's.

Dewyze emerged as a contender early and was at his strongest in the weeks leading up to the finale, staying in his comfort zone and looking more confident each week.

According to People, former judge Paula Abdul will join the show for a “special send-off” to the departing judge.

ABC's comedies soared and CBS' "I Get That A Lot" delivered another decent performance, but "American Idol" did enough to help FOX win on Wednesday night, despite the not-so-impressive sneak launch for "Good Guys."

To nobody’s surprise, and to the relief of the “American Idol” executives, it will be Crystal Bowersox and Lee Dewyze singing in the finale next week. It’s hard to argue with the results. Bowersox has been strong all season long, and Dewyze has emerged over the past month to join her as a favorite. The contrast between the indie coffeehouse artist and the paint-store rocker — and believe me, you’ll hear that story line a zillion times this week — will be fun to watch.

Of the three remaining “American Idol” finalists, two have been sure bets. And then there’s Casey James. He’s been in the bottom three in back-to-back weeks, so why is he still here?

The credits have rolled on "American Idol" finalist Michael Lynche....