American Idol (season 13) American Idol (season 13) The thirteenth season of "American Idol", styled as American Idol XIII, premiered on the Fox television network on January 15, 2014. Ryan Seacrest returned as host for his thirteenth season. Keith Urban was the only judge from the twelfth season to return. Former judge Jennifer Lopez, who returned after one season absence, and Harry Connick, Jr. joined the judging panel following the departures of Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson, though Jackson returned as a mentor, replacing Jimmy Iovine. On May 21, Caleb Johnson was announced the winner of the season, with Jena Irene as
American Idol (season 12) the first season in "American Idol" history in which all of the contestants of one gender were voted off before anyone of the opposite gender. The contestants performed a song that a previous "American Idol" winner performed while on the show, including their coronation songs, or a song they recorded in their post-Idol career. Two more acts were presented on the Top 10 results show, for one last spot in the Idol tour 2013. They were Aubrey Cleland and Charlie Askew, who were the sixth-place finishers for each respective gender group. The results were announced the next episode. Before the