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 American Idol American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle USA and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. On March 11, 2018, the sixteenth season debuted on ABC. It started as an addition to the "Idols" format that was based on "Pop Idol" from British television, and became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television. The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with