‘American Idol’ to Set Up Audition Video Booth at Disney World

The era of American Idol on ABC is set to begin, with auditions taking place at Disney World in central Florida Aug. 17. Idol winners Jordin Sparks, Kris Allen and Ruben Studdard will greet audition participants during the kickoff celebration at Disney Springs.

Besides that day’s auditions, a pop-up audition kiosk at Disney Springs will be open Aug. 18 to Sept. 15. Hopefuls can create and submit an audition video there.

Aspiring singers can also submit an audition video through AmericanIdol.com.

Auditions simultaneously kick off on the West Coast in Portland Aug. 17. They then move on to Miami Aug. 19 and Oakland Aug. 20.

ABC picked up American Idol after it ran for 15 seasons on Fox, starting in 2002. It will debut early in 2018. Ryan Seacrest is returning as host.

American Idol is produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, part of CORE Media Group. Executive producers include FremantleMedia North America’s Trish Kinane and Jennifer Mullin, along with co-executive producer Megan Wolflick. FremantleMedia International distributes American Idol worldwide.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.