There is no Mariah Carey versus Nicki Minaj type feud going on with the American Idol 2014 judges! Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban seem to have nothing but appreciation and respect for each other at the Atlanta auditions, airing on FOX this Thursday. Certainly a welcome change from the barely contained hostility and diva behavior among the American Idol judges last season!
Jennifer Lopez said during the Atlanta auditions that she can’t wait for fans to find out how truly funny Harry Connick Jr. is this season, according to the Associated Press. In return, Harry said Jennifer is a superstar and hopefuls are extremely lucky to have the privilege of singing for her. Jennifer also said it was also a happy surprise to see how emotional and in touch Keith Urban was.
Emotional, funny, silly, and just plain oddball at times — we just can’t get enough of these 2014 American Idol judges. Especially Harry Connick Jr., who is just so wacky at times it is like he is filming his own sitcom at the same time he is sitting on the judges’ panel. For example, let’s take the audition of Chris Medina in Atlanta. Chris walks in with his dog that he apparently can’t bear to be separated from for a minute. Harry immediately makes some kind of crazy joke about host Ryan Seacrest‘s “toiletry bag” and then steals the dog to cuddle in his lap.
Keith Urban told Access Atlanta that he really enjoyed being a judge last season and that’s why he decided to come back this year. He said the chemistry between the American Idol judges this season is just “easy, real easy from day one” and everything “feels really good. There’s a particular energy about it, it’s really great to be a part of it.” Honestly, sometime it even looks like Harry and Keith are sharing two sides of the same brain. Just check out how they respond to Atlanta hopeful Jess Meuse telling them she’s from a town called Slapout, Alabama.
It’s love and respect at the end of the day,” Jennifer told Entertainment Tonight. “We want to bring back a lot of fun,” American Idol 2014 host Ryan Seacrest said. He says the chemistry between the new judges is totally “natural” and “there’s no act here.” We feel it. There is just no way you can fake the crazy that is Harry getting down with “Pants on the Ground” repeat American Idol contestant General Larry Platt. We especially love Jennifer Lopez’s face as she stares up to the heavens at being the ‘sane’ one on the panel between Harry and Keith when things get wacky.
This is the sixth time American Idol has searched for a superstar in Atlanta. Out of the thousands of hopefuls who attended the open call auditions back in the summer, only about 80 were called back to sing in front of the judges. Can you spot a future American Idol winner in the photos from the Atlanta auditions?
(Click the thumbnails for bigger pics – Source: FOX.)