‘American Idol’ season 12 promo: Nicki Minaj takes back seat to contestants

Finally, this is “American Idol” … or at least this is the promo for it that everyone has been waiting for.

At times during the show’s promotional effort for season 12, we have grown frustrated with the fact that Nigel Lythgoe and company have placed much of the focus on the judges, who received plenty of headlines already in between contract negotiations and fights during the audition process, rather than the young singers actually hoping to make their dreams come true. Out of all the singing shows on TV, this is the one that really gives you the feeling of artists being born out of nowhere, rather than people with some sort of pre-existing career getting to take it to the next level. Therefore, we want to see these stars shine!

While there is not much in the way of singing when it comes to the promo, we do get to see a healthy mixture of contestants: some are thrilled, some are heartbroken, and it feels completely real as these singers are having to handle the pressure of having their dreams made or destroyed in the matter of just a few short minutes. There are also a few funny one-liners from the contestants themselves in front of the judges … though Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson, and Keith Urban here are really nothing more than smiling faces.

“American Idol” season 12 will be ready to rock again come January 16, and we are of course going to be your go-to source for all sorts of coverage here whether it be reviews, weekly contestant rankings, and of course our all-familiar “notes” taking a look back at some past contestants.

Are you excited for this season on the same level as you were for some “American Idols” in the past? If you want to watch the premiere episode a little early, you can find out some more details over at the link here.

Photo: Fox