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 a one-season absence, and Harry Connick Jr. both joined the judging panel following the departures of Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, and Nicki Minaj, although Jackson remained as a mentor, replacing Jimmy Iovine.

On May 21, Caleb Johnson was announced the winner, with Jena Irene as the runner-up.

Changes from previous seasons
There were a number of major changes this season. On May 9, 2013, Randy Jackson announced that he would no longer serve as a judge. On May 30, 2013, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj both also announced they would not return to the judging panel. On August 1, 2013, it was confirmed that Keith Urban would return as a judge for another season. Executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick were succeeded by Per Blankens, previously of Idol, the Swedish version of American Idol. On June 25, 2013, it was confirmed that producers Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager would join Blankens as executive producers of the show. Bill DeRonde replaced Warwick as the director of the audition episodes and Louis J. Horvitz also replaced Gregg Gelfand as a director of the live show. Fox television executive Mike Darnell, who helped launch American Idol in 2002, left as programming head of Fox, and Fox Sports executive David Hill was hired to oversee the series. Rickey Minor returned to the show as musical director after having left at the end of the ninth season.

In August 2013, it was reported that Jennifer 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 this season, and that he would be replaced by Randy Jackson. On August 30, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Harry Connick Jr. had signed a deal to join the judges panel and that Simon Fuller had held a party the night before with all three judges to toast the forthcoming announcement. On September 3, 2013, Lopez and Connick Jr. were officially announced as judges for this season. It was also later reported that alumni Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry would assist in mentoring the contestants.

In a rules change from past seasons, semifinalists from the twelfth season who had not made it into the top 10 would be eligible to audition again, provided they met all of the other requirements. This season, the viewers were also able to vote for their favorite contestants via Google Search. American Idol teamed up with Facebook to present "on-air visualizations" showing real-time East Coast voting developments, including live "demographic voting trends and relative contestant rankings." Voting could also start as soon as the performance shows began this season, and real time vote rankings were shown while the show is still in progress. Additionally, each contestant was assigned the same telephone number for the entire competition.

Regional auditions
Auditions took place in the following cities:

In addition, special audition bus tours were held in Little Rock, Arkansas; Oxford, Mississippi; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Those chosen proceeded on to Salt Lake City to audition in front of the judges.

One audition this season was Tristen Langley, son of first season's third-placed finalist Nikki McKibbin, who made history as the first of the second-generation contestants on American Idol.

Hollywood week
A new "Hollywood or Home" round was introduced this season where contestants could be eliminated soon after they had landed at LAX airport. 52 contestants performed solo in an airplane hangar, and of those, 32 were immediately sent back home. The 160 contestants left then proceeded to Hollywood and performed solo at the Dolby Theatre in groups of ten. After this round, 104 contestants remained and they performed in groups of three or four. 77 contestants went through to a solo round.

The Hollywood rounds ended with a top 30 being announced on February 12 and 13, 2014. However, a new twist was added where the judges only choose 15 female contestants and 14 male contestants, with the 15th man to be chosen by the public. The options were either Ben Briley or Neco Starr. The result was revealed at the end of the females' semifinals episode, and Briley was the selection.

Semifinals
The semifinals began on February 18. The three-day event was marketed as "Rush Week". In another twist, the judges were required to announce which ten out of the fifteen per each gender would be eligible to sing for votes, thereby eliminating five men and five women without permitting them to perform. Then, the top five men and the top five women, along with three assorted Wild Card contestants selected by the judges, advanced to the finals.

Color key:

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Wild Card round
Following the ten finalists who advanced to the finals on Thursday, February 20, five of the remaining ten semifinalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round, which began immediately afterward. Following another performance by each Wild Card contestant, the judges then selected three contestants to join the final group of 13.

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 13 finalists

 * Caleb Johnson (born April 23, 1991 ) was from Asheville, North Carolina. He had previously auditioned in the tenth and eleventh seasons, but he was cut during the selection of the top 25. He auditioned in Atlanta, where he performed an original song, "Into the Void." In Hollywood, he first performed "Sympathy for the Devil," followed by "Too Close" in a group that included C. J. Harris, and he performed "Radioactive" as his last solo.


 * Jena Irene (born July 13, 1996 ) was from Farmington Hills, Michigan. She auditioned in Detroit with Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." She performed "Video Games" in Hollywood as her first solo, Alex Clare's "Too Close" in the group performance, and her own composition, "Unbreakable Me," in the Wild Card round.


 * Alex Preston (born May 6, 1993 ) was from Mont Vernon, New Hampshire. He performed an original song, "Fairytales," for his audition. In Hollywood, he performed "Scream & Shout" as his first solo and "Fairytales" as his final solo.


 * Jessica Meuse (born October 19, 1990, in Round Rock, Texas ) was from Slapout, Alabama. She auditioned in Atlanta with one of her own songs, "Blue-Eyed Lie." She performed another original, "Done," in Hollywood.


 * Sam Woolf (born April 19, 1996 ) was from Bradenton, Florida. He auditioned in Boston with "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran. He sang "Waiting on the World to Change" and his original composition, "I Tried," in Hollywood.


 * C. J. Harris (born January 28, 1991 ) was from Jasper, Alabama. He auditioned in Salt Lake City, where he sang "Soulshine." He performed "Trouble" in Hollywood, and was in a group with fellow finalist Caleb Johnson, where they performed Alex Clare's "Too Close." For his final solo, he performed "Bring It On Home to Me."


 * Dexter Roberts (born July 12, 1991 ) was from Fayette, Alabama. He performed "Drive" for his audition. He performed "I Want It That Way" as part of a group with fellow finalist Ben Briley, For his final solo, he performed an original song: "Farmer's Grandson."


 * Malaya Watson (born September 24, 1997 ) was from Southfield, Michigan. She auditioned in Detroit with Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way." In Hollywood, she sang "Brand New Me" by Alicia Keys, and then performed "I Believe" as her final solo.


 * Majesty Rose (born February 29, 1992 ) was from Goldsboro, North Carolina. She auditioned in Atlanta, where she sang Coldplay's "Violet Hill". In Hollywood, she performed "1234" and "Stars."


 * MK Nobilette (born August 20, 1993 ) was from San Francisco, California, where she auditioned with "If I Were Your Woman." In Hollywood, she performed "Royals" in a group performance and "The A Team" by Ed Sheeran as her final solo.


 * Ben Briley (born March 19, 1989 ) was from Gallatin, Tennessee. He auditioned in Atlanta, singing "Arms of a Woman." In Hollywood, he performed "I Want It That Way" in a group with fellow finalist Dexter Roberts, and "Stars" as his final solo.


 * Emily Piriz (born January 28, 1996 ) was from Orlando, Florida. She auditioned in Atlanta, singing "Mamma Knows Best" by Jessie J. She sang "Nothing but the Water" as her first solo in Hollywood and "Stars" as her final solo.


 * Kristen O'Connor (born April 19, 1989) was from Sebastian, Florida. She auditioned in Atlanta, singing "Good Morning Heartache". In Hollywood, she performed "Unconditionally" as a solo and "Treasure" in a group performance with fellow finalist, Sam Woolf.

Finals
There were thirteen weeks of finals with thirteen contestants competing. At least one contestant was eliminated every week based on the public's votes, although the judges could veto one elimination through the use of the "judges' save."

Color key:

Top 13 – This Is Me
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 12 – Home
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 11 – Movie soundtracks
Contestants chose songs featured in movies, and are listed in the order they performed.

Top 10 – Billboard top 10
Contestants each performed one song from the Billboard top 10 lists from 2011 to 2014. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 9 – "I'm with the band!"
Each contestant performed as the lead singer of the show's band, performing one song each of their choice.

Top 8 (April 3) – Back to the start
Contestants performed two songs each: one solo, which was the song that they had originally performed when they first auditioned, and one duet with a fellow contestant. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. The judges chose to use their "judges' save" when Sam Woolf was announced as the performer to be eliminated. As a result, no one was eliminated this week.

Top 8 (April 10) – Music from the 1980s
David Cook served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed two songs each: one solo and one duet with a fellow contestant. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 7 – Competitors' choice
Each contestant performed two songs: one song chosen by a fellow contestant and either one duet with a fellow contestant or one trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 6 – Rock and roll & country
Each contestant performed two songs: one rock and roll and one country. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 5 – America's choice
Jason Mraz served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed three songs chosen by viewers through a public vote, one of which was either a duet with a fellow contestant or a trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

During the results show, the contestants were given the option to decide whether this week would be a non-elimination week (the following week would then feature a double-elimination), but it would have required a unanimous agreement. Since Jena Irene and Alex Preston declined the option, the elimination went forth as planned.

Top 4 – Love songs: break-ups, dedications, and make-ups
Each contestant performed three love songs: the first dealing with break-ups, the second dealing with personal dedications, and the third dealing with make-ups. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 3
Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen by mentor Randy Jackson, one chosen by the judges, and one chosen by the finalists' hometown. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

This was also American Idol's 500th episode.

Top 2 – Finale
Each contestant performed three songs, one of which was chosen by producer Simon Fuller, and are listed in the order they performed.

Elimination chart
Color key: • {{legend|gold|Winner}}

• {{legend|silver|Runner-up}}

• {{legend|#FFEBCD|Did not perform}}

• {{legend|#FDFC8F|Saved by the public}}

• {{legend|#B0E0E6|Saved by the judges}}

• {{legend|#e0f0ff|Bottom two or three}}

• {{legend|#FF91A4|Eliminated}}

Caleb Johnson comment
During his interview with AfterBuzz TV following the top 5 elimination show, Caleb Johnson made offensive remarks about his fans who tweet him song suggestions. "[Twitter] gives access to a bunch of retards to talk to me," Caleb said. "I don't really enjoy having to see somebody telling me what song I have to sing. I think at this point of the competition, I can pick and choose my own songs and represent me. I don't need 10,000 people saying, 'You should sing this, you should sing that. Listen to me!' Fortunately, guys, I'm going to listen to myself, whether you like it or not."

His comment was described as "arrogant," with some fans becoming angry. Caleb issued an apology on his Facebook page. "For the record that juvenile comment I made in the interview was not directed towards my fans but to the wackos that send hundreds of hate messages a day to me! You guys are amazing and I cannot thank you enough for your support. Sorry if it offended anybody it was the wrong choice of words. Also I greatly appreciate it when you guys give me song suggestions but it gets really overwhelming at the volume it comes in so please understand! Rock on!"

U.S. Nielsen ratings
Live + same day ratings

For the first time in nearly twelve years, an American Idol episode dropped beneath the ten-million viewer mark. This occurred on February 18, 2014. The last time an episode was below this mark was July 24, 2002.

Live + 7 day (DVR) ratings

Critical response
Harry Connick Jr. was lauded for his performance as a judge. USA Today, Rolling Stone, and MTV all claimed that he "stole the spotlight" during the season premiere with his humor and knowledgeable feedback. Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online suggested that Connick Jr. could save the struggling show. She wrote that he was better than Simon Cowell, writing that while he is "brutally honest," he also shows heart. Robert Rorke of the New York Post wrote that Connick Jr. was unlikely to "save" American Idol, but also wrote that he made the show watchable again by bringing class and keeping the focus on the contestants. Keith Urban was also lauded as a judge, and his chemistry with Harry Contick Jr was considered one of the highlights of the season.

The "Rush Week" twist was not well received by critics. As described by Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo TV, "The other five just sat backstage for a couple hours (while their loved ones sat in the audience), waited in vain for their names to be called, and eventually went home." Furthermore, Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Like the women, once 10 of the guys were given the chance to compete for our votes, the five remaining... were collectively shuffled before us, looking stunned and solemn, and then sent home, this time with a few tepidly encouraging parting words from the judges."

Music releases

 * Music releases

Concert tour

 * American Idols LIVE! Tour 2014