Ellen DeGeneres has decided to bow out from her role as a judge on American Idol next season. Ellen served as a judge during the ninth season of Idol, the No. 1 hit series on television.

“A couple months ago, I let FOX and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me,” said Ellen. “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

“We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of Idol,” said Peter Rice, Chairman of Entertainment, Fox Networks Group. “We were fortunate to receive the humor, energy and love for talent that she brought to the show.”

“It was a joy to work with Ellen,” added Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “She brought an incredible spirit to Idol and was a great new addition to the team. While we’re saddened by her decision, we are very appreciative that she gave us ample notice so that we could work through it together.”

“I loved Ellen’s passion for the artists and her nurturing skills,” said Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller.  “She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel and I will miss her greatly.”

“We will miss Ellen, she has been the consummate professional throughout her time on the show, and she’ll always be part of the American Idol family,” added Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Idol executive producer.

Auditions for Season 10 are happening now. Learn more.

Allison Iraheta will perform on tonight’s (Thursday, July 29^th) So You Think You Can Dance results show. The Season 8 top female will sing her hit single “Don’t Waste The Pretty” with Orianthi in their first TV appearance together. Currently, Allison and Orianthi are on tour with Season 8 American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert on his Glam Nation Tour.

Tune into FOX at 9/8c for the very special performance, and check back later for photos from her time on So You Think You Can Dance.

Allison’s run on the Glam Nation Tour was just extended. Click here to see when “Adison” (Adam + Allison) will be hitting up a town near you!

American Idol, the No. 1 show on television, kicked off the auditions for its milestone 10th season with a bang as over 26,000 hopefuls came out for their shot at the coveted Idol crown!

The first stop on the Idol audition tour was Nashville on July 17, where an incredible 16,000 people swarmed Broadway, home of the world-famous Music City Honky Tonks. Days later, in Milwaukee, more than 10,000 showed up at the Bradley Center on July 21. Next stop will be the Crescent City, as the search for the next singing superstar heads to New Orleans on Monday, July 26.

“The numbers of people turning up to the American Idol auditions in Nashville and Milwaukee have been incredible,” said Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol. “These attendance figures are significantly up on the last few years, and there is clearly renewed excitement and interest in the show, which is great to see.”

The remaining American Idol auditions will be held as follows:

Get all the information you need before you head out to audition. We've got all the forms and requirements for you in one place.

Season 2’s Kimberley Locke recently released her single “Strobelight.” The song, a Randy Jackson collaboration, landed at #7 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart this week, making it Kimberley’s fourth Top 10 dance hit!

Kimberley has upcoming shows in California, Louisiana, Delaware, Illinois, and Georgia, so fans across the country and catch her live. She will also be personally calling her fans by telephone. To learn more, visit her official website.

We caught up with Kimberley recently and she talked about her new single, working with Randy, and Season 9. Watch the interview.

American Idol Lee DeWyze has been touring the country for three weeks now with his fellow Top 10 Season 9 finalists. The reigning champ hopped on the phone with us before performing in Pittsburgh for an exclusive interview. He chatted about his upcoming album, advice for Season 10 hopefuls, and more.

Lee told us that “The best part of being on tour is getting to play live; really live! There are no judges and no cameras. It’s just me doing my thing and getting to play for the fans.” So does Lee get nervous performing in front of stadiums of people? Nope. “I got up in front of 40 million people while on American Idol and I learned so much from the show. It’s all about music for me. I stayed true to myself on the show, and being on the big stage on tour I’m interacting with the crowd and being myself.”

Every season seems to have a prankster, and it seems that Lee is the Season 9 tour prankster. MyIdol member Wahntchre wanted to know more about Lee’s leader role with the pranks and if he’s afraid of the pranks that may be pulled on him. “I only do very subtle pranks – nothing harmful. If anyone is going to try to prank me, it better be good, because there’s going to be retaliation!”

As the American Idol, Lee is the headliner of the Season 9 tour. Since he’s the last person to perform at each show, what does he do to pass the time while he’s waiting for his set? “I’m still trying to figure it out,” Lee remarked. “I have time to listen to a full album, so I’ll pick one and listen to it. I just try and chill, because if I just sit around and wait, I’ll get tired. During Casey’s and Crystal’s sets, I’ll go watch them and listen to the crowd and get pumped up.”

Lee’s favorite part about being on tour is meeting the fans. “There have been a lot of cool moments meeting the fans. Seeing the people who supported me on the show has been great. They are fans of the show and are music fans too. It’s cool to see the people progress from being fans of mine to fans of my music. When I meet them I like to let the fans know how much I appreciate them. The time will come when I’m out on my own making music, and I look forward to making a name for myself and having them stick by me. I love them all so much.”

In just one month, the tour will hit up Lee’s hometown, Chicago! “I’m very excited for the Chicago show because my family and friends will be there,” Lee shared. “This will be the first show my family will be at. There are lots of fans in Chicago too. It will be like a really good homecoming.” Although the tour stop will be just 15 minutes away from Lee’s home, they don’t have any extra time to spend in Chicago. Once the tour ends, Lee said he’ll have a little time to see everyone back home.

As Lee travels the country on tour, he is also working on his album and first single. “My first single was ‘Beautiful Day,’ and the fans responded to it well. It was cool to cover a song by one of the biggest bands of all time,” said Lee. “I am looking forward to releasing my album which will be more my style – more folk-rock. I’ve been writing everything so far and it represents me well.” My Idol members AngelxDeWyze and jojowinkie wanted to know more about the writing process, and Lee shared, “I’ve been writing since I was 16 years old. I’m inspired by different stages of my life, and Idol was a huge stage of my life and a big influence. I like to write about things I can relate to like finding myself, love, and emotional things people can feel. I’m emotionally connected to music. My mood affects my music and sometimes the melody comes first and other times it’s the story; it just depends on how I’m feeling. Sometimes a song will just come to me, but I never write about something I don’t experience myself or an experience someone else shares with me.”

To the Season 10 hopefuls who are currently going through the audition process, Lee offered up some great advice. “First, good luck to all of them,” Lee stated. “Don’t be fake and don’t try to be something you’re not. Stay true to yourself. If you do the best you can, good things will come.”

Before Lee hit the road with the Top 10, he talked about what he has to have with him on tour and what it’s like to have his dreams come true. Watch the interview!

View photos of the Top 10 performing on tour.