10:32 AM EST 12/23/2014
"American Idol" Season 14 premieres on FOX next month (January) and they have released a new promo teaser with footage of the Top 24 contestants revealed. The trick is that you can't see any of their faces, so while you get a slight preview of them, you won't know exactly who the Top 24 are until the new season beings.
"Now tonight, it's an Idol first," host Ryan Seacrest says in the clip. "Before we even show you the auditions, we're going to introduce you to the Top 24. You will fall in love with them, you'll root for them, and you'll vote for them. But right now, you will hear them."
"Here's the @AmericanIdol TOP 24 contestants & they just might be the BEST yet!!! #idol," tweeted judge Keith Urban.
Season 14 of "American Idol" premieres over two nights on Wednesday, January 7, and Thursday, January 8, at 8 p.m. on FOX.
CEO of Big Machine Label group Scott Borchetta, who discovered Taylor Swift, will replace former mentors Randy Jackson and Jimmy Iovine in prepping the talent for each week's live show.
Season 14 will also bring back the same trio of judges from last year including Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr., and Keith Urban. Also returning is host Ryan Seacrest, who is the only mainstay since the shows initial season.
Original judge, Randy Jackson, who stayed on as a in-house mentor last season, has officially announced that he will not be returning as a mentor this year. Jackson sat with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul in the shows highest rated seasons.
"American Idol" has fallen in ratings from their glory days back in the early to mid 2000's with "The Voice" on NBC taking over as America's favorite reality singing competition. With that being the case, Idol still has millions of viewers per week and a huge platform to launch the right star.
According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut."
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