‘American Idol’ season 12: Carrie Underwood, Phillip Phillips featured in new promo

With “The Voice” and “The X Factor” currently both on the air, the producers of “American Idol” are obviously desperate to remind you of one thing before the start of season 12: their competition actually turns people into real superstar,s and not just singers who cut one track and are ever heard from again.

With their latest promo, Nigel Lythgoe and company pretty much crams just about every big name from their show that they can within the span of sixteen seconds, including such winners as Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery, and the reigning champion in Phillip Phillips. They also reference a pair of performers in Katharine McPhee and Adam Lambert who did not win, but have since gone on to have a great deal of success in the music industry.

Auditions for season 12 have already been filmed, and if for whatever reason you have not heard about them yet, it’s been a crazy few months. Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have famously clashed at the judges’ table, including one expletive-laden rant that was leaked to the internet featuring a very unhappy Minaj attacking the ego of the “Vision of Love” singer. Is anyone else stoked to see what happens here during the live shows? As crazy as the judges are sure to be, the one nice thing about “American Idol” is that, unlike the other shows in this genre, producers are smart enough to remember that it really is the contestants, and not the people critiquing them, that will have people watching for months to come.

Do you think this strategy of highlighting past winners is a smart one for “American Idol,” and do you think it is a deliberate shot being taken at some of the other singing competitions?