Harry Connick Jr: 'American Idol' judges have to be real and tell it like it is

American Idol's upcoming thirteenth season will kick off with a two-night premiere on Wednesday, January 15 at 8PM ET/PT followed by Thursday, January 16 at 8PM ET/PT on Fox.


The premiere episode of the new edition will feature contestants auditioning for newbie judge Harry Connick Jr. and veteran judges Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban in Austin, TX and Boston, MA. Randy Jackson will take on the in-house mentor role this season and Ryan Seacrest will return as host.

Although he's a first-time judge, Harry previously served as a guest mentor on American Idol. Keith will be a member of the judging panel for his second season in a row after sitting beside Randy, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey last season. Jennifer is also coming back to the panel after being absent from the show's twelfth season. She previously judged the show's eleventh edition alongside Randy and Steven Tyler.

During a recent conference call with reporters, Harry talked about his American Idol experience thus far. Below is the concluding portion of his interview. Click here to read the first half. 

I got to see a little bit of Hollywood Week yesterday when you guys were filming, and I was wondering if there's anything that surprised you about how you judged or if it was difficult.  What did you have to reach inside to find when you judged and had to give bad news to people?


Harry Connick Jr.: Well, there were no surprises because sometimes you do have to give bad news and sometimes that's the best thing these kids can hear, is the truth.  In fact, at all times it's the best thing they can hear. 

And sometimes the performances are great, and sometimes the performances are terrible, and I would want to be told or I would want my friends and children to be told the absolute truth.  I think you can be diplomatic about it, but you also have to be real.  You have to tell it like it is.

There was one group that came out yesterday that was, I thought, horrible.  I don't think you have to make personal commentary on people about the way they look, it's got nothing to do with that.  It has to do with the performance, and I thought it was terrible, and I said that was terrible.  I couldn't wait for it to end. 

And then, you move onto the next one and they come out and give a killer performance and then you use that.  So, it's a very healthy, honest, spontaneous environment, and it feels right to me.  There were no surprises, but it feels right.

We've seen some fun clips of you and Keith and Jennifer, and I just wanted to see which one of you is the biggest troublemaker when it comes to having fun?


Harry Connick Jr.: We're all kind of troublemakers in a way that we all kind of goof around and are silly sometimes.  I do it a lot because I've been like that since I was a kid.  I was kind of the class clown. 

It's really hard to label people, but I guess if you had to pick the person who's the goofiest, it would probably be me. But they all get silly and serious and sentimental.  All of us are complex grown people.  So, we all give a little bit of that, but if you had to pick one, it would probably be me.

So Harry, that must mean that you're the Nicki Minaj of this year's group.  Is that right?

Harry Connick Jr.: Hell yes.

How do you deal with criticism?  Are you good with it or not?


Harry Connick Jr.: Well, it depends on the source, really.  As a kid, when my teachers would critique me -- and it happened every day for years and years and years -- you develop a tolerance for it, especially when it's right and when it's sincere and when it helps you. 

Nowadays, if I do something wrong and somebody that I know and love says, "Hey man, that was a mistake," I'm at the point in my life where I can admit it almost immediately. 

The criticism from the noise out there because somebody doesn't like the way I look or the way I sing or the way I talk, it just doesn't even register with me.  Some people don't read reviews, some people do read reviews.  If I read one or not, it doesn't matter.  I just don't -- there's a lot of noise out there.  I just don't hear any of the noise.

What about Keith and Jennifer?  Did they give you advice about this job before you started?  Did they say, "Now this you have to know?"

Harry Connick Jr.: No, there wasn't really any of that because I think they knew that I was really familiar with the show, and seriously, you could tell from the first contestant that this was going to be a lot of fun. 


It's not rocket science.  We go up there; It's a very simple concept.  They hired us to judge and all of these young performers signed up to be judged and that's it.  They sing, we judge and it's pretty easy.

How are you going to balance family time with your new responsibilities?

Harry Connick Jr.: Well, I have a manager that I've been with since I was 18 and she's really good at carving out time for work and for family, and sometimes it's hard.  These last few months have been tough.  I'm filming a movie and I was on tour and then Idol was going on. 

So, it's been a little thin on the family side and it's not that great to be honest with you.  I miss my family, but I happen to absolutely love what I do and everybody in my family happens to love what they do.  They all love their schools and my wife, Jill, loves her life, so nobody's miserable but we miss each other. 

But we're going to see each other Saturday and we'll be together over the holidays, so that's good, but it's tough.  I'm not going to lie to you, I wish I could be with them every day, but they know that I have to work and they love it and they support it and no complaints.


Is there anything specific that you're looking forward to as the show goes forward, not necessarily the live episodes but just as it moves further into the season? 

Harry Connick Jr.: You mean for the show American Idol or for particular performers?

Just for your part in it.  Obviously this is new to you, so there must be something that you're looking forward to taking part in. 

Harry Connick Jr.: Honestly, as broad as this sounds, I really am just looking forward to being on the show.  We've worked, I don't know how many days, but if you include like the audition days in different cities, Hollywood Week, all of these things -- every time American Idol is on the calendar, I just bound out of bed with great excitement and enthusiasm, like it's really, really fun. 

It's extremely intense.  The days are long; It's very emotional.  But it's just the wildest ride and it's a wonderful ride with great people, and I really just like being a part of it. 

I thought it would be like that but it's hard to come and speak about the specifics before you've actually done it.  So, all I had to base it on was my last times mentoring, but I'm telling you, it is a great, great show with great people at the helm, and we're just having a ball.


What do you find most challenging about your experience on the show?  Is it being away from your family or the long hours?

Harry Connick Jr.: The long hours don't bother me, but I think you go back to the hotel and you're by yourself and I'm like, "I just wish my wife and kids were here," but that's temporary and everybody knows that and we can -- it could be worse.

So, in previous years, Idol has crowned a lot of artists to fall in categories outside of your own as far as genres go.  What are the odds of finding the next Harry Connick Jr. this season? 

Harry Connick Jr.: I don't know.  Hopefully there's only one me and you'll never find the next one, but genre really doesn't matter to me.  I haven't seen anyone in this entire audition process that really does anything remotely similar to what I do, but I think there are qualities that -- even Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban don't do what I do. 

We share qualities and that's what we're looking for.  We're looking for work ethic and artistry and being telegenic and creative and just being an artist, and as far as finding the next me, that didn't cross my mind.

As far as Randy Jackson goes, his new in-house mentor role, do you think that will help in fostering talent as far as swing and big band and that whole area?


Harry Connick Jr.: No because that's not what Randy does, and that's not what this show is really about.  This show is about finding a pop superstar.  It's not really about jazz and big band.  So, if somebody came -- I can tell you right now, out of the 600 people we saw, none of them did that kind of music.  But if they did, I would sure rather have Randy in my corner if I were a young performer than maybe somebody else. 

He is from New Orleans or Louisiana anyway, and he understands it to a point, but that's not even in the cards really.  Randy's a bad dude.  Randy's an incredible talent.  Anybody would be lucky to have him coaching them on any genre really.  Although jazz and big band aren't at the forefront of what Randy does today, he is more than capable of coaching that or any other genre.

Above is the concluding portion of Harry Connick Jr.'s interview. Click here to read the first half. 






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski