Fox has announced the dates and locations for American Idol's seventh season open auditions.

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While Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe had previously mentioned he was considering raising the eligibility for the seventh season to include 30-year-olds, that apparently won't be the case.  Instead, Idol's seventh season will allow singers as old as 28 years of age to compete, as it has for the last two seasons (prior to Idol 4, age 26 had been the maximum).  Also as in previous seasons, the competition's minimum age will remain 16.

More specifically, all contestants must be between 16 and 28 years old on July 28, 2007 -- meaning that all applicants must be born on or between July 29, 1978 and July 28, 1991 in order to be eligible to participate.

Auditions for the seventh installment of American Idol will begin in San Diego, CA on Monday, July 30 at Qualcomm Stadium.

In addition to San Diego, auditions will also take place in six other cities -- Dallas, TX; Omaha, NE; Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Miami, FL and Philadelphia, PA -- with the open auditions in Omaha, Charleston and Philadelphia marking the first time the Fox mega-hit has held casting calls in those cities.  Beyond meeting the competition's age requirements, applicants must also be eligible to work in the United States.

Besides San Diego, the six other audition locations for American Idol 7 are:

Monday, August 6
Texas Stadium
Dallas, TX

Friday, August 10
Qwest Center
Omaha, NE

Tuesday, August 14
TBA
Atlanta, GA

Saturday, August 18
North Charleston Coliseum
Charleston, SC

Wednesday, August 22
AmericanAirlines Arena
Miami, FL

Monday, August 27
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, PA

Additional information is available via American Idol's website.  Idol's seventh season is scheduled to premiere in January 2008.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.