American Idol season 13 is set to start soon, with preliminary auditions over, judges in place, and episode 1 scheduled to air on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Major spoilers are included in this article.
The judges are: Keith Urban, country singer; Jennifer Lopez, back after one season away; and Harry Connick Jr.
Changes are evident in the show, reported USA Today.
“A new twist begins at the start of Hollywood Week, when audition survivors are first whittled, and a shorter middle round, now called Rush Week, has been added, ” it reported. “There’s more coverage of what the judges say after singers leave the audition room, and fewer auditions of bad singers — an Idol trademark — although there still will be room for the outlandish.”
“I said I do not want to see people who legitimately don’t belong,” Connick said. “That said, my 16-year-old said, ‘Dad, is there going to be silly people coming to audition, people that we get to laugh at?’ Because they like that as part of the show.”
A sneak peek into the show comes through videos released of some of the auditions. Story continues below the video.
Many spoilers are already floating around including a source did tell the Hollywood Reporter that the American Idol finale could be held at Madison Square Garden. The finale is slated for May 20 and May 21.
Also, information has been released for which audition cities would be played during the two-part premiere on January 15 and January 16 and later dates:
- Wednesday, Jan. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 1 – Boston, MA
- Thursday, Jan. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 2 – Austin, TX
- Wednesday, Jan. 22 (8:00-10:00 PM) Detroit, MI & Salt Lake City, UT
- Thursday, Jan. 23 (8:00-9:00 PM) Atlanta, GA
- Wednesday, Jan. 29 (8:00-10:00 PM) Omaha, NE & San Francisco, CA
- Thursday, Jan. 30 (8:00-9:00 PM) The Road to Hollywood
After these auditions are aired, the “Hollywood Week” round will go from February 5 through February 12. By the end, the top 50 will be cut down to the top 31, according to American Idol Net.
Additionally, on February 18, American Idol will air a special about Candice Glover, who won season 12.
The semifinals go from February 19 through March 6. Leading up to the finale, the finals begin on March 12 and end on May 15.
The purported top 31 has already been published by several blogs, including this one. There’s 16 males and 15 females that supposedly make that cut.
