American Idol (season 12) American Idol (season 12) The twelfth season of "American Idol" premiered on January 16, 2013, as part of the mid-season of the 2012–13 network television season. Ryan Seacrest returned to host. Randy Jackson returned for his twelfth season as judge and was joined by new judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, who replaced Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. The season was the third to have four judges, after the eighth and ninth seasons. It was also the first season in the show's history where all the finalists of one gender (male) were eliminated before any finalists of the
American Idol (season 5) Ninth-place finisher Mandisa's "True Beauty" album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007. Season five is the season from the first ten seasons of "American Idol" with the most number of finalists who have made it onto the Billboard charts. The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists. In 2006, American Idol also became the most nominated unscripted show ever, and has several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for season five: American Idol (season 5) The fifth season of reality television singing competition "American Idol" began on January 17,