American Idol (season 10) American Idol (season 10) The tenth season of "American Idol" premiered on January 19, 2011 and concluded on May 25, 2011, on the Fox television network. 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 judging panel following the departures of Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres. Interscope Records, which is part of Universal Music Group, replaced Sony Music Entertainment as "Idol"s official partner record label. Interscope's Chairman Jimmy Iovine, a
American Idol its impact is felt particularly strongly in the country music format. According to a CMT exec, reflecting on the success of Idol alumni in the country genre, "if you want to try and get famous fast by going to a cattle call audition on TV, Idol reasonably remains the first choice for anyone", and that country music and Idol "go together well". "American Idol" was nominated for the Emmy's Outstanding Reality Competition Program for nine years but never won. Director Bruce Gower won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Series in 2009, and