Even though the premier of the newest season of American Idol is still six months away, the judges are back to work beginning their tour of the country to find the most talented new batch of singers from all over the states. The judges, Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban spent some time in Nashville this week while young kids auditioned for them in hopes of becoming the next American Idol.
“There’s definitely a sense of pride for me in Nashville. I want everyone here to walk in and kill these guys. I want Nashville to bring it,” says judge Keith Urban, country singer and superstar. Jennifer Lopez might not be a country singer, but she agrees with Urban’s outlook on the kids of Nashville.
“Being in a music center like Nashville set the bar high. The people on the building there – Dolly, Elvis, Taylor and Miranda Lambert – they’re huge stars,” says Lopez while standing next to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Much to Urban’s dismay, however, the kids of Nashville did not wow the judges. Only about 100 people who made it past the producers and into the room with the judges, and not many of them were where they needed to be.
“Good, not great. What you really want at the end of the day is to go back to the hotel, and say to each other, ‘You know what, that kid, the one with the purple hair, that kid was amazing,’ You want to get excited,” said Harry Connick Jr. of the audition process. Unfortunately, that did not happen for the judges during their time in Nashville.
It was the judges first time getting back together since the current winner of Idol was announced back in May, and it was like a reunion for all of them.
(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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