“Idol” audition requirements
Registration begins Thursday, July 25 at Gwinnett Arena (6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth). You will receive a wristband for entry Friday, July 26. You also could register on Friday morning but you will end up way back in the line.
You must be between age 15 and 28 as of May 16, 2013. Minors must have a parent or guardian with them. You cannot have professional talent representation or a music recording contract.
You can start lining up at 5 a.m. Friday. Nobody will be allowed to camp out.
For the first time, “Idol” will allow singers to use guitars during their first audition. But you’ll still have to sing a capella first.
Find more details at www.americanidol.com, where you can also post online auditions.
Eleven years ago, in the pouring rain, 300 “American Idol” hopefuls huddled outside AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta, trying to get on a summer show nobody had ever heard of - yet.
Then it became one of the biggest TV cultural phenomenons of the 2000s. “Idol” came back to Atlanta for seasons two and three and crowds of hopeful contestants burst into the thousands. They camped out on downtown sidewalks to hold a place in the tryout line in the fall of 2002, then slept on seats at the Georgia Dome in 2003.
This Friday, the talent show returns to the metro Atlanta for the first time since 2009 and sixth time overall. In this case, “Idol” opted for the cozier confines of Gwinnett Arena in Duluth. Sleep-overs have long since been banished in favor of a more orderly registration process.
But “Idol” enters season 13 in a state of angst, with slipping ratings and a palpable lack of buzz. The show has already cancelled several tour dates for the live show due to tepid sales. The season 12 crew stops at Gwinnett Arena August 4.
Audition turnout was disappointing in Salt Lake City, where 2,500 turned out, and San Francisco which had 3,000 contestants. But “Idol” executives were buoyed that 8,000 singers showed up in Detroit last week.
Patrick Lynn, an executive producer in charge of the auditions since 2002, isn’t letting pending clouds of irrelevancy muddle his viewpoint.
“We still create stars,” he said, pointing out the success of season 11 winner, Georgia native Phillip Phillips who has pocketed two hits so far: “Home” and “Gone, Gone, Gone.” Current winner Candice Glover, on the other hand, has yet to make an impression on radio or in download sales.
“Idol” always picks a Southern city or two to host auditions each year because the area creates so many great “Idol” winners, from Fantasia to Scotty McCreery. Lynn lobbied for Atlanta this season because “all highways lead to the city. It draws from multiple states.” In past years, the lines have been packed with aspirants from Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and the Carolinas.
Another advantage, he said: it’s Ryan Seacrest’s hometown.
The host, the only on-air representative for the show going back to 2002, will be at the arena at 8 a.m. Friday to rally the troops 18 miles from his alma mater, Dunwoody High School.
Lynn’s only disappointment: his bosses have yet to finalize a judge’s panel. Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey have all confirmed their departures. There is no word on Keith Urban.
“I like to tell people who the judges are so they can react,” he said.
