American Idol 2016. In May 2017, ABC acquired the rights to the series and the program would return for the 2017–18 television season. The show had originally planned on having four judges following the "Pop Idol" format; however, only three judges had been found by the time of the audition round in the first season, namely Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. A fourth judge, radio DJ Stryker, was originally chosen but he dropped out citing "image concerns". In the second season, New York radio personality Angie Martinez had been hired as a fourth judge but withdrew only after a few
American Idol United States 10% more likely to watch "American Idol" during the eighth season in 2009, and those in the East Central region, such as Kentucky, were 16 percent more likely to tune into the series. Data from Nielsen SoundScan, a music-sales tracking service, showed that of the 47 million CDs sold by "Idol" contestants through January 2010, 85 percent were by contestants with ties to the American South. Theories given for the success of Southerners on "Idol" have been: more versatility with musical genres, as the Southern U.S. is home to several music genre scenes; not having as many opportunities