American Idol Season 7 + Blake Lewis' Album Cover

The next edition of “American Idol” doesn’t start until January - but the Hollywood phase of the show, where scores of hopefuls are narrowed down to 24 semi-finalists, is about to begin and a new season is officially underway.

Several changes are in the works, officials say, including:

- changing the format to let singers show other musical talents, such as guitar playing.

- many fewer “mentors,” those established musical stars like Diana Ross and Tony Bennett, who appeared every week last season and took attention away from the contestants.

- and next summer, the annual “Idol” live tour may be combined with the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour - to create a show with both singing and dancing.

Fake but still hot

A photograph of two American Idol 6 finalists that is making the rounds online offers something a lot more interesting than Sanjaya to talk about: two male contestants who seem to have a very close relationship. However, the picture is not genuine.

The photo shows finalist Blake Lewis sitting on Chris Richardson’s lap backstage; has his arms around Blake, who’s carefully studying his phone or other electronic device.

Their images are real, but the original Getty Images photo shows both men in the same poses, just sitting in separate chairs, as a Towleroad commenter noticed. Someone with Photoshop skills clearly edited the two together using the original, which was taken on Feb. 20, as the source.

[ via: reality blurred]