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 Extra first exit interview is now conducted on "Live with Regis and Kelly". No other elements of this program have survived. Weekly segments include interviews with audience members who watched the performance show, interviews with past "Idol" contestants, a trivia contest, and a viewer question submitted by text messages from AT&T (formerly Cingular) subscribers. American Idol Extra American Idol Extra is a television show that was shown on the Fox Reality Channel and Star! and billed as "the show that picks up right where "American Idol" leaves off". The program featured the first full-length interview with the most recent eliminated contestant