Despite the judging panel being smaller than usual, singer/actress Jennifer Lopez has officially returned to "American Idol" taking Mariah Carey's place for the upcoming 13th season. Lopez will be seated next to Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr, who has been a mentor on the show for years and is Nicki Minaj's replacement.
The last remaining judge from the original AmericanIdol lineup, Randy Jackson, announced in May that he was leaving the show. It was just one of the many moves that Idol executives wanted to make to shake the show up and generate some buzz after Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj both announced their exit.
