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
Search for the Idol Philippines Sanchez, the runner-up of the 11th season of American Idol, will be added as a judge but it has been denied by her. Billy Crawford confirmed his role as the host after he also renewed his contract with the network. In 2018, ABS-CBN acquired the rights to air the third incarnation of the "Idol" in the Philippines. On October 17, 2018, Regine Velasquez was revealed as the first judge following her contract signing with the network. The following month, also after a contract signing, Billy Crawford was announced to host the show. Search for the Idol Philippines Search for the