The Big Announcement: Is FOX In No Hurry?

As we all await the announcement of the season 10 judging panel, my idol, Michael Slezak of EW.com, reported something very interesting today. The show is not in a big hurry to name the panel…

We all presumed that the show would want to hurry up and name the judges so they could get in front of the cameras before the end of September, as usual. But Slezak reports that’s not the case. His source tells him, “The urgency is not there. It only exists in the press. People need to just chill.”

Slezak’s source said that in seasons past, the callback rounds featuring the judges were filmed by the end of September to accommodate Simon Cowell’s schedule. Now that’s not necessary, so the callbacks could possibly start as late as October or November.

“Idol” has already added an audition date for September 27th in Los Angeles, and the show announced today that it is now accepting auditions via MySpace. Through October 6th, singers between the ages of 15 and 28 can submit their videos to www.myspace.com/americanidol.

I wondered if maybe FOX would make the announcement this week to steal some thunder from Simon Cowell’s “America’s Got Talent,” but apparently that’s not going to happen. So, I guess I’ll just chill…