American Idol (season 8) had Simon Cowell as a judge for the eighth year in a row.
 From the tenth to twelfth seasons, Jimmy Iovine was brought in as a mentor for the season
The show itself was popular in the Southern United States, with households in the Southeastern United States 10% more likely to watch American Idol during the eighth season in 2009, and those in the East Central region, such as Kentucky, were 16 percent more likely to tune into the series

