AMERICAN IDOL is back with Season 13, kicking off with a two-night event on CTV Two beginning Wednesday, January 15 at 8 p.m. ET with auditions from Boston and Austin. The singing continues on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET with more auditions from Austin, and a stop in San Francisco.New to the judging panel this season is EMMY® and GRAMMY® award-winning entertainer, and former Idol guest mentor, Harry Connick Jr., who has sold over 28 million albums worldwide. Connick joins fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, as well as in-house mentor Randy Jackson, and long-time host Ryan Seacrest.
“…I really am just looking forward to being on the show. Every time AMERICAN IDOL is on the calendar, I just bound out of bed with great excitement and enthusiasm. It’s extremely intense. The days are long. It’s very emotional, but it’s just the wildest ride and it’s a wonderful ride with great people and I really just like being a part of it,” said Connick in a conference call in December.
Throughout Connick’s multi-faceted career, he has earned:
- Seven Top 20 U.S. albums
- Ten #1 U.S. jazz albums
- Three GRAMMY® Awards
- Two EMMY® Awards
With the addition of Connick to the judging panel, this season marks the first time in AMERICAN IDOL history that the judges are all musical performers.
In the coming weeks, audition episodes continue, with stops in Detroit, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Omaha, and will be followed by the Hollywood rounds as the hopefuls take the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for group and solo performances.
In two new twists this season, competitors will face an intense new round before they’ve even unpacked their bags in Hollywood. Some of the singers will be asked to perform one more time for the judges, and for some it will be their last performance. Then, following the Hollywood rounds, 15 female and 15 male competitors will take to the stage for America’s votes, and only the Top 13 finalists will move on to the performance rounds.
