"American Idol" starts its "live" rounds this Sunday, with everyone doing their respective things from their own homes. But it won't actually be live.
The contestants will record their performances the day before. Then RYAN SEACREST and the judges will watch those recordings together, and comment on them as a group. The finale will be done the same way, except that the RESULTS will be live.
Obviously they're doing it this way because with everyone coming from a different location, and so much depending on the Internet, there's a much higher chance of technical difficulties.
There will also be more than one elimination per week. The contestants may not be able to sing on the big stage, but they're sprucing up their own homes before America gets to see inside them. A producer says, quote, "One of our contestants took it upon himself to build a little stage in his garage with backdrops, and it's looking amazing."Â