Former judge Jennifer Lopez, who returned after a one-season absence, and Harry Connick Jr. both joined the judging panel following the departures of Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, and Nicki Minaj, although Jackson remained as a mentor, replacing Jimmy Iovine.

[9] Rickey Minor returned to the show as musical director after having left at the end of the ninth season.

[11] On August 22, 2013, it was reported that Jimmy Iovine would not return as the in-house mentor this season, and that he would be replaced by Randy Jackson.

[12] On August 25, 2013, Variety had reported that record producer Dr. Luke was closing a deal to sign to the judging panel, with musician will.i.am and talent manager Scooter Braun also in discussion if Luke’s deal fell through.

[13] On August 30, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Harry Connick Jr. had signed a deal to join the judges panel and that Simon Fuller had held a party the night before with all three judges to toast the forthcoming announcement.

It was also later reported that alumni Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry would assist in mentoring the contestants.

American Idol teamed up with Facebook to present "on-air visualizations" showing real-time East Coast voting developments, including live "demographic voting trends and relative contestant rankings.

Auditions took place in the following cities:[18] In addition, special audition bus tours were held in Little Rock, Arkansas; Oxford, Mississippi; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

[26][27] Those chosen proceeded on to Salt Lake City to audition in front of the judges.

[28] A new "Hollywood or Home" round was introduced this season where contestants could be eliminated soon after they had landed at LAX airport.

[29] The 160 contestants left then proceeded to Hollywood and performed solo at the Dolby Theatre in groups of ten.

In another twist, the judges were required to announce which ten out of the fifteen per each gender would be eligible to sing for votes, thereby eliminating five men and five women without permitting them to perform.

Color key: During his interview with AfterBuzz TV following the top 5 elimination show, Caleb Johnson made offensive remarks about his fans who tweet him song suggestions.

[62] "For the record that juvenile comment I made in the interview was not directed towards my fans but to the wackos that send hundreds of hate messages a day to me!

Also I greatly appreciate it when you guys give me song suggestions but it gets really overwhelming at the volume it comes in so please understand!

"[63] Live + same day ratings For the first time in nearly twelve years, an American Idol episode dropped beneath the ten-million viewer mark.

Live + 7 day (DVR) ratings Harry Connick Jr. was lauded for his performance as a judge.

USA Today, Rolling Stone, and MTV all claimed that he "stole the spotlight" during the season premiere with his humor and knowledgeable feedback.

[171] Keith Urban was also lauded as a judge, and his chemistry with Harry Contick Jr was considered one of the highlights of the season.

"[172] Furthermore, Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Like the women, once 10 of the guys were given the chance to compete for our votes, the five remaining... were collectively shuffled before us, looking stunned and solemn, and then sent home, this time with a few tepidly encouraging parting words from the judges.