American Idol has once again opened this year and is now on its 13th season. Season 12 judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj bade goodbye as the American Idol family welcomed Harry Connick Jr. and brought back Jennifer Lopez. Keith Urban, who started last season, remains as one of the judges. To make the season more interesting, the longest running judge, Randy Jackson, stepped away from the judging panel to be a mentor for all the contestants. A team of mentors was formed to guide the contestants in every step of the way.

The auditions this season have also become more extensive as the judges traveled to different cities in search for the next singing superstar. Some of these cities are Salt Lake, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Austin and Omaha. The Idol bus has also roamed around the country to recommend singers who could possibly impress the judges during the actual auditions.

From thousands of hopefuls, the competition is now down to 20. Last week, the top 15 girls and top 15 boys were revealed. Last night, 10 of the 15 girls were given the chance to continue in the competition and sing for America's votes. The same thing will happen for the guys. On Thursday night, 10 contestants will be elected by America and 3 will become wildcard entries and be chosen by the judges.

Among the heavy favorites in this competition are MK Nobilette from San Francisco who almost made Jennifer Lopez cry during the top 10 girls' performance with her song "All of Me" by John Legend, Emily Piriz who sang "Paris Oh La La" and was almost scolded by Connick for her song choice, and half-Filipina Malaya Watson who sang "Hard Times." For the boys, among the frontrunners are Caleb Johnson who already auditioned last season, and Spencer Lloyd, the good-looking guy who has wowed the judges since the beginning.

This year is expected to be smooth sailing and relaxed according to Idol producers. They want to bring out the best that America has to offer in terms of vocal quality.