Well there you have it: This. Is. American. Idol.

In a bloated, online streamed event, Ryan Seacrest officially announced what we already knew weeks ago. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez will join Randy Jackson as the official judges for the tenth season of Idol.

Anyone who followed the Idol judges drama this past off season were pretty sure that Tyler and Lopez would be the new judges. I guess the big surprise is that they are going back to the three judge format, which really worked out the best.
In true Idol fashion, the producers felt the need to make this announcement as big of a deal as one of their season finales. After a brief introduction and a video showcasing all this summer's Idol speculation, Seacrest took the stage and made the first official announcement: Steven Tyler

The video package of Steven Tyler tried really hard to make him come off as a true rock God. Hyperbole filled the screen, with words like: outrageous, electric, out spoken, outdated (just kidding), a true icon. The Aerosmith singer then came out and did his best Steven Tyler impersonation. The man is a rock star, it will be a nice change of pace for the show. That being said, he was impossible to understand. It will be fun trying to decipher his critiques this season. He seemed genuinely excited about his new gig, but even more excited about replacing Simon.

After Tyler left the stage, Seacrest gushed over the news of the next iconic judge: Jennifer Lopez.

This announcement was truly anticlimactic (even though producers tried to ratchet up the drama by having her enter the stage through large amounts of fog), because Idol officially announced her as the judge last week. Anyway, the video package focused as much attention on JLo's celebrity (did we really need those dreaded/dated "Bennifer" shots?) as it did on her actual music career. JLo looked great, and ready to get her judge on. Ryan then called out Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler from backstage, and the three new judges embraced.
 
Even though today's announcement spectacular lacked any suspense, it sure feels good getting the speculation out of the way. Now we can focus on the auditions which are right around the corner.

You can watch the live press conference here:




(Image courtesy of FOX)