For years, American Idol contestants have auditioned for the show with the hopes of making it to "Hollywood Week", which is where they perform for a chance to be in the Top 30. However, this year, after 24 seasons, judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie are switching things up. Hollywood Week now takes place in Nashville instead of Hollywood. The judges talked about the change on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday.
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"This time around, Hollywood week is in Nashville," Jimmy Kimmel said, announcing the elephant in the room. "Which, makes it not Hollywood Week, because normally you're in Hollywood, which is why they named the week after it, but now you're in Nashville." Both Bryan and Underwood live in Nashville already, but to judge on this season of American Idol, Lionel Richie has had to commute from Beverly Hills to Music City.
Jimmy then looked at Luke Bryan. "When you're like doing the show in there is there an invitation for him to stay in your home?" Bryan admitted that no, Lionel does not stay with him.
"So we just got a Four Seasons in Nashville," Bryan explained to Jimmy. "Otherwise Lionel would have commuted from the closest Four Seasons to Nashville." The audience laughed.
Secondly, Lionel Richie admitted that because Carrie and Luke get up so early, oftentimes at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, living with either of them wouldn't work out so well for him. Carrie then confirmed, "I get up at 5, yeah. I got lunches to make and breakfast to make. I gotta get up before my kids do, or it's gonna be bad."
It seems like the living arrangements have worked out for the best for these stars this season.
It's Still Hollywood Week, Just in a Different Location
So, why is American Idol moving to Music City this year? The show's Hollywood Week has been rebranded to "Hollywood Week: Music City Takeover", which Carrie discussed in an interview with Kelly Sutton.
"It's like Hollywood Week in Music City," she explained. "It means the same thing because we have these challenges that we're gonna throw at you, and it's very intense for a few days, but it's like music city takeover." So, really, the spirit of the show hasn't changed a bit, even if the location has.
The new season of American Idol premieres on Monday, January 26. Fans can stream the show live on ABC and watch it the next day on Hulu.
