American Idol lowers age limit

Trying to figure out how to recover from this season’s ratings decline and next season’s loss of Simon Cowell, American Idol has the answer: find another Justin Bieber. The reality competition show announced today that it is lowering the minimum age for contestants from 16 to 15, the better to find performers that actual 15 year-olds—or 13 year-old girls—can relate to. The show, whose auditions begin next month, has not changed its maximum age of 28. Because, after all, who wants to see a singer over 30, except for all the famous singers who appear as guests?

New York Times