Some of the funniest contestants were “Bikini Girl” and “Sexual Choolate”, but we’ve also noticed Scott McIntyre the blind guy with great voice, Cody Shelton, who was appreciated by all four judges, Emily Wynne-Hughes, the red headed girl from California and Arianna.

Golden tickets awarded tonight in Phoenix, Arizona: 27.

This was mainly the American Idol Season 8 opening. We are coming back to you with photos, videos and more news as the show advances.

Paula Abdul to Judge American Idol in 2009

Paula Abdul was one of the American Idol judges in the 2008 contest. Despite the rumors that she’s not going to be in the team for the 2009 competition, it seems that she’s going to stay with the show for one more season. This is good news, because Paula is very popular among Americans, so she’ll be welcome. The judges team will expand with the addition of Kara DioGuardi, a famous song writer and music producer. She has written songs for artists such as Santana, Christina Aguillera, Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani or Carrie Underwood, and she’s really cool and energetic, and a true professional, committed to her work.

Changes for the New American Idol Season

One of the main changes is that the number of judges will increase by one. Another change is getting back to the wild-card system. Moreover, there will be 36 semi-finalists in 2009, by comparison with past editions, when there were only 24 contestants competing in the semi-finals. Rumors tell that in this new reality show, we are going to see more of the off-stage interaction of the contestants. This means that the broadcast time will be probably increased compared to previous years. It’s interesting how Idol Watchers will receive the new format. In case they might not be true fans of Big Brother, they’ll lose interest in the American Idol and not watch what’s going on in the house on regular basis.

On the contrary, the changes may bring in new watchers, new fans for the Idols to be, and more money from TV commercials, of course. Besides, it is possible that more viewers will be tempted to vote for their favorite contestant.

The group will be winnowed down to 12 finalists, with nine chosen by audience voting and three wild-card singers selected by judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and a previously announced newcomer, singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi.

In 2008, the American Idol contest was won by David Cook, voted over runner-up american idol David Archuleta.