‘American Idol’ visits for 10th season

All they need is "Love."

The cast and crew of "American Idol," that is.

The top-rated Fox series visits Las Vegas this week to shoot a key "Idol" episode for the show's upcoming 10th season on location in The Mirage's Love Theatre, home to Cirque du Soleil's Beatles-themed show "Love."

Taking a break from hearing hopefuls sing their hearts out, "American Idol" judges Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson joined host Ryan Seacrest in the "Love" showroom lobby Tuesday afternoon for a brief news conference to discuss the show's Vegas visit.

"The 411 is 911," Tyler said of the show's location stint. "These kids are on fire."

And there are plenty of them. Some 60 contestants survived "Idol's" initial "Hollywood Week" to earn a chance to perform on a real Las Vegas stage -- but only 40 will survive the Vegas round and return to Hollywood to continue competing. "American Idol" returns at 8 p.m. Jan. 19 on KVVU-TV, Channel 5.

The Las Vegas stint gives wannabes a chance to experience "singing on a real stage, with a real set, with a real band," Lopez said. In turn, Lopez and her fellow judges "get to see who are the performers," she added. "It's an important step, to see if they really stand out."

In addition to solos in the spotlight, contestants are "singing in groups of twos and threes," Jackson explained.

And they're singing "some of the best songs ever," he said. "It's an interesting little twist."

With contestants as young as 15 in this season's lineup, "a lot of them have never heard a Beatles song," noted Tyler. "We're looking for them to add their own flavor."

In the process, the judges "want to put the kids through a gauntlet," the veteran Aerosmith rocker added. "If you sing it, it's got to be good."

Both Lopez and Tyler are new to "American Idol's" judging panel; the show's 10th season will be its first without original judge -- and breakout star -- Simon Cowell, whose stinging critiques became a hallmark of the show.

When asked which of the new judges would be "the mean one," neither Lopez nor Tyler volunteered.

Instead, Lopez confessed to worrying about the contestants and agonizing when she and her fellow judges had to eliminate hopefuls.

"To me, it's heartbreaking but fulfilling," she said. But "it's where we're pushing them. They have to deliver every single time."

And that ties into the fact that "American Idol's" new season will be "Season 10, the remix," Jackson said. In addition to new judges and a new Wednesday-Thursday schedule, "It's quite a different show," he said. "It's got a different sort of energy."

Which makes perfect sense, in Lopez's view.

"To me, a remix is when you take a great song and give it a different spin," she said. "We're all proud of what we've been doing. I think we've got a great season and a great show. The audience is going to be pleased -- and surprised."

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.