The Grand Magnolias

The Grand Magnolias

The tenth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox television network on January 19, 2011, and concluded on May 25, 2011. The show underwent a number of changes from the ninth season, including the return of Nigel Lythgoe as executive producer. Randy Jackson returned as judge for his tenth season, while Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined the judges' panel following the departures of Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kara DioGuardi. Interscope Records, which was part of Universal Music Group, replaced Sony Music Entertainment as Idol's official partner record label. Interscope's chairman Jimmy Iovine, a songwriter and producer, was named as the in-house mentor to work with the contestants on a weekly basis. He was supported by associated producers Rodney Jerkins, Alex da Kid, Tricky Stewart, Don Was, will.i.am, and Timbaland, who all helped the contestants tailor their song choices to their chosen genre of performance, while also producing arrangements for the contestants and offering original material to be performed. Ray Chew replaced Rickey Minor as the show's musical director and leader of Idol's live band.Programming changes included a move from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Wednesdays and Thursdays. The show also opened up an option for viewers to cast their votes online through Facebook. Specific changes in the competition itself included extending extra rounds (such as the one in Las Vegas) and a final solo round, while also returning the judges' Wild Card choices. The show also lowered the age of eligibility to fifteen.On May 25, 2011, after 122.4 million votes were cast for the finale (and nearly 750 million votes all season), Scotty McCreery was crowned the winner of the tenth season of American Idol, with Lauren Alaina as the runner-up. Nine contestants from this season were signed to record labels, including Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin, Casey Abrams, Stefano Langone, Pia Toscano, Naima Adedapo, and Jimmie Allen.

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