Steven Tyler

When "American Idol" returns for its 10th season on Fox Jan. 19, it will have two fresh (and very famous) faces at the judges' table. And it will also feature, the network promises, a renewed focus on the warbling would-be stars who are supposed to be the singing smash's reason for existence in the first place. Ah, but something will be missing. Oh, right ? the sassy guy with the flattop and tight T-shirts. The big suspense surrounding the new "Idol" isn't whether Steven Tyler will be introduced as Liv Tyler's father or Jennifer Lopez will salvage her fading career.

As "American Idol" winds down its 11th season, it's time to ask: Is Fox's smash singing contest losing the kids? For years, "Idol" was TV's unrivaled ratings champ, and a big part of its success lay in its appeal to young people, who made it their No. 1 TV choice for years. But this year, critics are attacking the show as increasingly stodgy while viewership has plunged more than 30% among teens and 20-somethings. And many of those viewers have gone to NBC's "The Voice," a hipper and sexier upstart that has much younger judges and often edgier songs.

Vocal hemorrhaging appears to have put the kibosh on singer Adele's tour; the UK singer posted a long, heartfelt explanation on her website about her voice problems. "Guys," she writes, "im heartbroken and worried to tell you that yet again im experiencing problems with my voice. its ridiculous i know! i cant believe it myself. i follow all the advice im given and stick to regimes, rules and practices to the best of my ability but it seems to simply not be enough. " Bad punctuation aside, Adele's voice problems are fairly common among singers, says Dr. Lee Akst, a laryngologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Voice Center in Baltimore.

She just couldn't let Steven Tyler have all the headlines: Jennifer Lopez announced Friday that she, too, won't be returning to “American Idol.”  Lopez, appearing on Ryan Seacrest's syndicated morning radio program, said that after two years on Fox's veteran singing competition show, “The time has come.” “I really have been torn,” she said. “When I signed on to 'Idol,' I signed on to do one year. I ended up doing two years … It was just such a lovely surprise in my life to do it.” PHOTOS: 'American Idol' judges through the years She continued, “It gets more complicated as the kids get a little bigger.

Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler is in an unidentified rehab facility in the aftermath of recent foot surgery. A spokeswoman for Tyler said the surgery was done "to correct longtime foot injuries resulting from his . . . athletic stage performances." Tyler checked himself in for rehab, but his spokeswoman said, "I have no further information available" on the nature of the rehabilitation -- whether it is physical treatment for the foot itself or substance-related because of medications used in the course of the surgery and post-surgery.

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith rocked out, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner got the word out and a constellation of celebrities took their wallets out -- to the tune of $830,000 -- at a charity event and mini-concert organized by John Varvatos and funding a program helping child victims of sexual assault. That brings the total raised by the annual event over the last decade to $3.53 million, with funds going to the Stuart House , a program created by the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center to serve the special needs of sexually abused children.  While the silent auction and a spirited live auction helped the event easily outstrip last year's $700,000 fundraiser , honorary co-chairs Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck underscored the benefit's other goal of shining a light on the topic of childhood sexual abuse -- and programs that deal with it. "When I first visited Stuart House eight or nine years ago, I was so impressed with how safe it felt," Garner told the crowd.  In his comments, Affleck explained that he got involved because his wife had hosted an earlier incarnation of the event.

Call it a clash of egos, a publicity stunt or merely one more battle in the long-running war between Boston and New York City, but Aerosmith's recent dismissal of KISS as "a comic book rock band" has prompted a response from KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley. Last week, for no apparent reason, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith decided to denigrate KISS on Florida radio station the Bone. Responding to a question about the 2003 KISS/Aerosmith tour, Tyler fired this shot: "Kiss is a comic book rock band and they got a couple hits, but they're more of a comic book.