American Idol Season 14 Premiere Recap [WATCH]

Wednesday night saw the return of American Idol for its 14th season. The past few years have been shaky for the show with critics questioning how much longer it would stick around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a major revamp and revival this year.

This season is the first without Randy Jackson, who became a mentor after 12 seasons as a judge. Music Executive, Scott Borchetta will play fill-in mentor for Randy.

There’s another change in the works for Idol, which has seen a steady decline in ratings in recent years: starting with the live shows in mid-March, Idol will air only once a week with a two-hour show on Wednesdays. From now until then, there will be an hour-long episode on Wednesday, followed by a two-hour episode on Thursdays.

Back again this year are judges Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban with Ryan Seacrest as host.

Ashley Surkin is the former Senior Writer and Interview Correspondent for 'American Idol Now.' She covered everything from auditions to "Hollywood week", coverage at the Season 10 & 11 finales and beyond! The Hawk Morning Show is excited to have her as our official American Idol expert! Check out what Ashley thought about last night’s season 14 premiere: