As the studio lights dim, the brightly dressed audience of predominantly teenage girls is buzzing with excitement.
Behind a three-storey video screen, the unmistakable voice of Ryan Seacrest says the words the crowd has been waiting all day to hear. ”This IS American Idol.”
The opening credits roll and the crowd erupts, the noise beaten only when Seacrest – dapper in slim-fitting grey suit, white shirt and black and white tie – invites the season 13 judges out on stage.
Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban make their way to the judging table and the audience reaches fever pitch. While most of the crowd weren’t even born when Connick Jr got his big break providing the soundtrack for Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, he’s been a popular addition to this year’s judging panel.
The show has brought him to the attention of a whole new generation of fans and given him the chance to pass on his extensive artistic knowledge to this year’s American Idol contestants. It’s a role he’s taking incredibly seriously.
”I’ve never done anything like this in my life,” Connick Jr says, talking on the red carpet after the top five elimination show. ”I’ve been a mentor and I’ve taught but to be a judge is to be a person who casts a very specific opinion week after week and I’ve never had to do that before.”
That hasn’t stopped him having fun, however. During commercial breaks, after obligatory make up and hair touch ups, Connick Jr – as well as Lopez, Urban, and Seacrest – pose for ”selfies” with as many audience members as they can.
”I love that. The judging part is the only part that I’m really serious on. The other stuff, I’m having a great time and screwing around,” he says.
”But when it comes to the judging, I’m taking it very seriously because their livelihood is at stake and I think it’s very important to treat that with as much respect as possible.”
Older viewers will of course remember a time when singing competitions like this didn’t exist – when the only way to make it big in the music business was to start from the very bottom, perform for tiny audiences in dingy clubs, building up a fan base and hoping one day you’d get discovered by a record label. But for many of the contestants – the majority of whom are in their teens – American Idol has been a part of their consciousness for almost their entire lives.
”I’ve always dreamed of being on the show and now it’s actually happening,”
