American Idol Season 13 Changes: Why You Should Give This Season A Chance

I probably should have posted something about American Idol sooner, but better late than never. The Season 13 2-night premiere begins on January 15. This season, there will be a few notable changes, that I can't help but be excited about! I will be the first to admit, that I have not been all that excited about Idol the last few seasons now (OK, maybe even more than a few seasons). I've watched mainly because it's Idol, and let's face it, no reality show watcher wants to miss out on one of the most popular and talked-about shows. I also always had a hope that "this year will be better". Unfortunately, especially last year, I and everyone else were let down yet again. I was so disappointed with last year's season that I wrote an open letter to American Idol stating all the things I thought needed to be changed. You can read that post here.

Well, it looks like American Idol was listening (at least a little bit). I don't know if there are going to be a lot of changes to the format of the season, but at this point, I almost don't even care because I am so excited about 2 things.

1) THE JUDGES!
2) New Mentor

1) In case you haven't heard, the judges for Season 13 are:

• Keith Urban--YES! I love Keith! Keith was an AMAZING judge last season. He was hilarious and he had plenty of helpful tips and critiques. His only downfall was being on a season with Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey, who stole all the screen time. He was lucky to get a word in edgewise during all the bickering. But, when he was lucky enough to be permitted to speak, he always had something to say that was worth listening to.
• Jennifer Lopez aka J. Lo--YES! I'm so glad J. Lo is back! I really enjoyed her on the 2 seasons she was on previously (Seasons 10 and 11). You never had to worry that she was going to sound drunk (Paula Abdul) or say something offensive (Nicki Minaj) or something about herself (Mariah Carey).
• Harry Connick, Jr.--YES! YES! YES! I am so incredibly excited to have Harry on the panel! I have been suggesting him for years (you'll notice he is the first name on my list of suggestions)! Not many people realize just how funny he is! He has been on Idol a few times as a guest judge/mentor, and he did an amazing job. Last season when he was on, he gave the contestants more helpful advice in a short training session than they got all year long from in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine. I think he is going to be an amazing addition to the panel.

I think these judges are going to have amazing chemistry. The word around the set is that Harry and Keith have a similar bromance that Adam and Blake have on The Voice. And we all know how much fun those guys are! J. Lo is so fun and easy-going, I think she will fit right in with the boys. Unlike seasons before, these judges care more about the contestants than getting themselves a lot of air time. The show always says they are going to focus more on the contestants and less on the judges, but let's just face--that was a joke last season. EVERYONE knows the only reason they had Nicki Minaj on was for the ratings...especially after the well-publicized feud with Mariah Carey. This season will be different, I have no doubt about that. The commercials showing Harry holding a contestant in his arms while they are singing; the game of echo that all the judges plus Ryan were doing; and so many others, show that they are having so much fun together. And if they're having fun, we'll have fun.

And for the first time EVER, every single judge is a legitimate and accomplished singer themselves. They aren't just a "pop star" who sings (or doesn't even really sing, like Nicki Minaj).

Here's just a couple of examples of what to expect this season. It looks like it's going to be so much fun!

2) New Mentor--Randy Jackson

In my letter, I said that Randy needed to go. He had been on the judging panel for 12 years, and probably about 8 or more seasons longer than he should have been. He brought nothing new and didn't offer many (if any) helpful tips for the contestants. Well, Randy isn't gone, but he's in a new role as the in-house mentor. Since he didn't offer a lot from the judging panel, I question whether or not he'll be able to help the contestants much from the mentoring role, but I'm anxious to see what happens.

I also said in my letter, that Jimmy Iovine was horrible and didn't help the contestants at all. I'm so glad that Idol sent him on his way, or he decided to go...not sure which it was--but I don't really care, because he's gone either way.

Rumored Changes for Season 13

• An updated song catalog--thank goodness! Another change I said they needed to make was to sing more current songs and stop recycling the old songs and themes over and over and over again. All the other reality singing shows (The Voice, X Factor, The Sing-Off) mix in some old with some very popular and modern songs, which make it so much more enjoyable to watch. Unfortunately, there was still a warning that they were still probably going to do some of those old themes, but we should expect to hear more current songs from current artists. Anything will be an improvement for them at this point.
• The results show being cut to 1/2 hour (at least at some point in the season)--thank goodness! Who needs 45 minutes of filler and horrible group routines? Let's just find out the results already! Some shows like The Voice manage to do some really cool group routines, but the ones on Idol always seem to be horrible (and lip-synced). 

All of these changes (and rumored changes) make me super excited for the season to start! I can't remember the last time I was truly excited for American Idol. If you stopped watching Idol because you couldn't stand Nicki Minaj, or if you got tired of it many seasons ago, I would say this would be the year to give it a try again. It's not time to give up on it just yet. Whatever problems the show has had, it still continues to make more legitimate singing stars than any other show. There is no disputing that. Even in the weakest of seasons, you can probably find at least one contestant somewhere in the music industry doing OK for themselves.

So, I hope you'll join me for Season 13, starting January 15!

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