American Idol returns
For 13th season, show returns to simpler roots
American Idol Wed., Jan. 15, 9 p.m., CTV Two, Fox PASADENA, CALIF. — They came to sing the praises of American Idol, but for once the message was refreshingly free of hype and empty meaning.
Returning judges Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez, host Ryan Seacrest and newly minted judge Harry Connick, Jr. sounded a positive note as they faced reporters at the winter meeting of the Television Critics Association.
A new season of American Idol begins Wednesday, on a wing and a prayer. Ratings are down, interest has waned and it seems a long time since the talent competition program vaulted Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood to music stardom.
The judges weren’t about to claim Idol will change the music world, though, or even that this year’s crop of fresh, untried talent will produce a bona fide star at the end of the Idol road.
Instead, Idol’s 13th season will return to the show’s original mandate of nurturing raw, green unknowns, helping them grow over time and pointing them in the right direction on the road to a viable career in music.
These judges get along — the days of arguing and bickering are long past — and, aside from a few minor tweaks along the way, Idol will play like an unplugged, stripped-down version of its former self. Randy Jackson, the sole holdover from the past regime, other than host Seacrest, will retain a behind-the-scenes role as mentor, coach and life adviser to all the singers. His onscreen role will be kept to a minimum: This year is all about Lopez, Urban and Connick, Jr. And the contestants. Idol will debut on back-toback nights, two hours each night, on Jan. 15 and 16, with the usual auditions in cities across the continental U.S.
The tone is different this time, though. It’s all about conviviality rather than pointed commentary.
These judges prefer to lean in and confer among themselves rather than try to oneup each other with clever asides, witty one-liners and not-so-subtle put-downs. This is a kinder, gentler Idol, and time will tell if it’s the right direction for a once-buzzed-about hit TV show that has flirted with irrelevance in recent years.
Lopez insists that, so far, it’s all good.
“I enjoy this show as a fan, and I fell even more in love with it after being involved with the production,” Lopez said. “I loved coming to work every day, which is why I’m back. This season I’m lucky enough to sit between two people who I respect and have a good time with. We all love music. We love the journey. We’re fans of American Idol, and I think that’s what’s going to make it sparkly and fresh and new again.”
Seacrest, who’s been there since Clarkson was anointed the first American Idol, thinks Idol’s returning to its kinder, gentler roots may strike a responsive chord with viewers.
“I think that when you watch a show like this, you want to see people having fun and laughing,” Seacrest said. “This group here definitely does that. They take the job very seriously, but they have fun doing it, and I think that shines through.
Urban sees “a shared spirit.”
“When you’re a creative person, there’s a fine balance between being very, very focused and disciplined about the craft and also having fun with it,” he said. “Because it’s life. It’s very short. And we’re trying to make sure that we have fun with it, and that they have fun with us.”