‘American Idol XIII’: Keith Urban tells Ryan Seacrest about joy of new season

In the past, “American Idol” has not always felt like an extremely positive environment. Just look at last year, for example, where the show felt so much more like a thunderdome than it did anything else. Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey each gave each other so much side-eye, that almost became their resting facial expressions.

Keith Urban was there last year to witness most of the insanity, but this time round, he has been given an opportunity to kick back, relax, and really enjoy finding the next big star. The country star told Ryan Seacrest at the E! red-carpet pre-show for the Grammys that what he really likes about the show this time around is that what you see on-camera really is what you get. There is no sort of confusion or personality shifts when the cameras are off; he even joked that Harry Connick Jr. is basically the same person during the show as he is when it is not shooting.

Keith is getting an opportunity right now to perform and do a variety of other things while the “American Idol” audition episodes are airing, mostly because he is not having to film much right now. That schedule is going to become a whole lot more intense in the months ahead, as some of the live shows begin around the end of February. That will also be the first opportunity that we really have to form opinions on the new judging panel; while they have been great so far, there is also a certain part of that you could blame on editing. While these people can’t make everyone look good, they can mask a ton of problems.

“American Idol” will be back with some more auditions come Wednesday night, so be on the lookout for more of that. Also, sign up now if you want to get some more news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: Fox