Although viewers won't see it play out on television until next month, American Idol has allegedly selected its Top 24 seventh-season semifinalists.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
"Joesplace'" claims appeared to be supported by a Pasadena Star-News report in which Rick Barr, the general manager of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, confirmed American Idol filmed at the auditorium on Tuesday.
"[Fox officials] don't want people around here," Barr told the Star-News. "This is not an audition, it's an elimination thing - they're not singing and dancing. They find out whether they go on or not."
The show was also seen filming about sixteen American Idol 7 contestants arriving in and emerging from Ford vehicles on the steps of Pasadena City Hall early Tuesday morning, according to the Star-News, which posted photos and video (see below) of the filming on its website.
"I can confirm that we are shooting today, but details are confidential," Fox publicist Jill Hudson told the Star-News via an e-mail sent several hours after the 7AM PT shoot.
"Two people working on the film crew" reportedly told the Star-News that they were "filming a commercial," however additional details were not made available, including the exact number of contestants present for the shoot. As one of the show's three major sponsors, Idol contestants regularly appear in Ford commercials throughout each season's broadcast run.
Idol has filmed segments for previous Idol installments on the steps of Pasadena Civic Auditorium and in the building's Gold Room, Ariel Penn, Pasadena's head of the city's film office, told the Star-News.
However the auditorium's steps are currently closed for construction, which Penn cited as a potential explanation for why the City Hall filming may have occurred.
Idol's seventh-season is currently entrenched in its audition-episode broadcasts, which will end with the show's February 6 broadcast. The initial portion of the Hollywood Round -- where 160 hopefuls get narrowed to the season's 24 semifinalists -- filmed in late November.
The first part of the Hollywood Round will air Tuesday, February 12 at 8PM ET/PT, and the identities of Idol 7's Top 24 semifinalists will be revealed at the conclusion of the following night's February 13 broadcast.
