American Idol (season 13) director after having left at the end of the ninth season to go to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". In August 2013, Jennifer Lopez's boyfriend Casper Smart stated Lopez would be returning as an "American Idol" judge. On August 22, 2013, it was reported that Jimmy Iovine would not return as the in-house mentor for this season, but he is to be replaced by former judge Randy Jackson. On August 30, 2013, "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote that Harry Connick, Jr. signed a deal to join the panel as the third judge and that Simon Fuller held a party the
American Idol The "American Idol" Songwriter contest was also held this season. From ten of the most popular submissions, each of the final two contestants chose a song to perform, although neither of their selections was used as the "coronation song". The winning song, "The Time of My Life", was recorded by David Cook and released on May 22, 2008. The eighth season premiered on January 13, 2009. Mike Darnell, the president of alternative programming for Fox, stated that the season would focus more on the contestants' personal life. In the first major change to the judging panel, a fourth judge, Kara