The talent contest opens Season 10 with auditions. New judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler join returning arbiter Randy Jackson; music impresario Jimmy Iovine serves as the new in-house mentor

The auditions continue from New Orleans, LA on the second part of two-night season premiere of American Idol as the judges continue their quest to find the next singing superstar.

The auditions continue from Milwaukee, WI on the new season of American Idol as the judges continue their quest to find the next singing superstar.

The honeymoon may be over for American Idol's 10th season. Perhaps the talent in Nashville wasn't as strong as the previous cities, but Thursday's episode seemed to skew more toward the clueless/ridiculous auditions than the earlier hours. Even so, there were some fine auditions, including a 15-year-old the show is already labeling the one to watch this season.

Before American Idol got down to wild and wacky business in Austin, the producers decided to start the show with a somber moment. Responding to some recent outrage over Steven Tyler's outlandish outbursts and his inappropriate come-ons toward some of the younger female singers, the producers apologized for his "outrageous behavior. "

In this interlude. After a season that, so far, has mostly favored the good auditions, Thursday's episode focused almost exclusively on the bad. Steven Tyler attributed the change to the city of Los Angeles, which he deduced is full of delusional people. Things got so bad that even J. Lo discovered her potty mouth.

The auditions come to a close and San Francisco is the last on the stop to Hollywood. With the worst week behind them in Los Angeles, the stage is set and the talent is improved 10 fold. The auditions kick off and thousands wait for their chance at stardom.

Judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler join host Ryan Seacrest in Hollywood to begin winnowing down the contestants. Hopefuls chosen from around the nation endure grueling rehearsals and pressure-packed auditions as they vie for a coveted spot among the Top 20

Judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler join host Ryan Seacrest in Hollywood to continue winnowing down the contestants. Hopefuls chosen from around the nation endure grueling rehearsals and pressure-packed auditions from the group round as they vie for a coveted spot among the Top 20.

The Hollywood Round continues as Randy, Jennifer and Steven narrow down the contestants even further.

Contestants perform songs by the Beatles in Las Vegas.

The eliminations continue to reveal the Top 24 contestants for the American Idol Live Shows. With a lot riding on this and after Jennifer's big blow up, will she been able to go on? The contestants await their fate.

The male semifinalists perform in hope of advancing to the next round.

The female semifinalists perform in hope of advancing to the next round.

It's the moment you've been waiting for: This season's finalists are announced tonight! Tune in to see if your favorites earn one of the coveted spots

The Top 13 Finalists perform

One of the Season 10 finalists is eliminated. Performers are Adam Lambert and Diddy-Dirty Money with Skylar Grey.

The finalists perform in hope of impressing the judges and the nation.

It's that time of the week again where one finalist will be eliminated from the competition. Tune in to see who faces the chopping block and is sent home after America's vote is revealed live.

A contestant is eliminated; performances by Jennifer Hudson and Sugarland.

A contestant is eliminated.

After the save last week of Casey Abrams, Lauren Alaina, James Durbin, Thia Megia, Haley Reinhart, Pia Toscano, Jacob Lusk, Scotty McCreery, Paul McDonald, Stefano Langone, Naima Adedapo and Casey Abrams perform again for the public vote. Who will be able to show their talent and avoid elimination in the results show?

Casey Abrams, Lauren Alaina, James Durbin, Thia Megia, Haley Reinhart, Pia Toscano, Jacob Lusk, Scotty McCreery, Paul McDonald, Stefano Langone and Naima Adedapo once again are on the chopping block, but this time 2 are going home. Special guest singers: Jamie Fox with Will I.Am. and Fantasia.

In this interlude. Jacob Lusk is up first. He at first decides to sing Let's Get It On. will. i. am and Jimmy Iovine listen to it and love it. Jacob then changes it up, not wanting to sing this blunt song about someone doing the nasty. He's now singing Man In the Mirror. Jimmy just wants him to feel comfortable.

Results night and Casey Abrams, Lauren Alaina, James Durbin, Haley Reinhart, Pia Toscano, Jacob Lusk, Scotty McCreery, Paul McDonald, and Stefano Langone are in danger of leaving the competition. Guest stars Constintine Maroulis and Iggy Pop perform and a VERY shocking result.

The eight remaining contestants perform again, hoping to impress the audience at home as well as judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Presented by Ryan Seacrest

A contestant is eliminated.

For something a little different, the show starts with a performance of So What by Ashton Jones, Karen Rodriguez, Naima Adedapo, Thia Megia, Pia Toscano, and Paul McDonald. Along with the theme this week, the contestants are also asked to describe their fellow contestants. Scotty McCreery is first and figuring everyone is going to try and be funny.

Jacob gets a chance to explain how he felt when everyone was calling him a diva last night. He didn't think they meant it in a bad way, and is pretty sure they just meant the notes he does vocally. He's going to get them back tonight. Scotty talks about a cupcake that has been named after him in his hometown, a Butterscotch Scotty.

Steven Tyler tells Jacob they all knew he could sing, and it's about time he shook his tailfeathers. He was wondering when he was going to get around to it. The character and dancing was what they were looking for. They all know he can sing, but when he struts like that, it's magic. Jennifer Lopez calls it a tricky song to stick with when he'd been having trouble.

In this interlude of the show. As one finalist will be eliminated from the competition. Lets see who faces the chopping block and is sent home after America's vote is revealed live. The Idols went to the British Consulate to celebrate this week's royal wedding. Tonight the Idols gather again singing a medley of Carole King hits.

Five singers perform.

Judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler give their verdicts on the five remaining finalists' performances, before the public vote decides who will be knocked out of the competition

With Jacob Lusk out of the competition, James Durbin, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and Haley Reinhart are the final four to battle for the spot as The American Idol. Guest mentor: Lady Gaga. They tackle two rounds. Round One: Song that inspires them. Round Two: Songs from Leiber and Stoller.

It's the time of the week where one contestant has to be eliminated. It's duet time as Scotty and James team up on Start 'em Bad/Startup Band. Lets Tune in to see who faces the chopping block. And who is sent home after America's vote is revealed live to the contestants. The two guys are sitting with Ryan and James is in tears.

The finalists perform.

Haley took the stage as Ryan showed her visit back to Wheeling, Illinois. She sang Sweet Home Chicago and announce it was a little nippy, and yeah, that's Chicago. It was raining on her parade, but she thought people would still turn up, and they did. The mayor announced May 13 to be Haley Reinhart today.

Steven wants to tell Scotty and Lauren if they sang it better, they might be in the finals of American Idol, but they're already there. He's going to give both the first and second rounds to Lauren, but only because she's prettier than Scotty. In the middle of the finals, we have a performance from Taio Cruz.

The finalists are on tenterhooks as they wait to find out which of them the American public has crowned the winner of the 10th series. Ryan Seacrest presents, with judges Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson