Latin American Idol the host country, Argentina in its capital Buenos Aires. The hosts were: Erika De la Vega and Monchi Balestra. The judges were: Jon Secada, Gustavo Sánchez and Elizabeth Meza. Before starting the judges of American Idol; Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul performed in Sony Entertainment Television a video saying that there was coming a Latin American version of the show. The theater of this stage is unique making a comparison with the other seasons because this one was divided into 2 stages instead of three. On August 2, the making of the "First Workshop" was made, were the
American Idol controversies possibly "ruining" "Idol". Melinda Doolittle's departure stunned fans and critics alike. Simon Cowell admitted that the sixth season's crown should have rightfully gone to Melinda. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe responded, noting that "["Idol" producers] were so engrossed with the mentors and didn't really focus on the Melinda Doolittles of the show." Lythgoe also produces "So You Think You Can Dance", and has noted that the dance program gives background information about its contestants, while "American Idol" focused more on its big name celebrity mentors, such as Tony Bennett, Gwen Stefani, and Jennifer Lopez. In the top thirteen in season 8,