Remaining contestants on American Idol will film their next performances and submit them on an iPhone with three episodes left in the season, reports Deadline.
American Idol was one of the most high-profile entertainment shows that was shutdown by the COVID-19 pandemic. The show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie as well as mentor Bobby Bones, returns with a two-hour episode on Sunday April 26. The host and judges will film remotely in their homes as “social distancing” is still being practiced.
“These are kids who are really used to iPhone technology, they are really familiar with it and use it every day. In the end, we decided rather than send them some complicated camera that you really need a camera operator to use, we would go with the the technology that they’re familiar with,” American Idol showrunner Trish Kinane, who is also President of Entertainment Programming for producer FremantleMedia North America, told Deadline. “These top of the range iPhones are amazing. It wouldn’t surprise me if we were using iPhones in the studio in the future.”
