American Idol Auditions: News, Notes and Country Singers Galore!

With American Idol set to return to the air in January, auditions are underway for the next Adam Lambert or Kris Allen.
How are they going so far? Producer Nigel Lythgoe answered that question for People magazine this week, going into detail on a number of topics. To wit:

Who has auditioned so far? "We're seeing quite a lot of country singers, a lot of young talent because we've opened it up to 15-year-olds now."
How is J-Lo faring as a judge? "Jennifer actually critiques what's in front of her. She doesn't just throw out glib remarks. She listens, she weighs it up and then she says how she feels."
And Steven Tyler? "[He] doesn't have a bad bone in his body and finds it very difficult to say 'you suck' to anybody."
What's his take on instruments? "People sort of lost a little bit behind instruments. I see no reason why we won't use guitars and pianos at least once or twice across the season, but I don't just want them everyday behind the bloody guitar."
And celebrity guest judges? "I'm not sure I'm going to use any guest judges, to be frank. We've got an entire record company behind it now with Interscope. We've got Jimmy Iovine and all of his producers... You've got real professionals here. I don't know why I need anyone else. They'll just get in the way."
Think that's a good plan? Are you excited for season 10 of American Idol?