"American Idol", The decade-old singing competition cum reality series has kicked off its preliminary round of auditions for season 13 and is now knee-deep in the selection process.
While the new season has yet to premiere on TV, in real time, the lucky contestants who were given golden tickets to the auditions leg of the show have already arrived in the City of Angels and are expected to battle it out for a coveted spot in the final line-up.
"A.I." host Ryan Seacrest thinks the upcoming season is going to be "one of the best yet," the Huffington Post reported. Judging by his response, it appears most of it is because of the personal dynamics among season 13's mentors: Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban.
"The chemistry is good! It's fun," Seacrest told the Huffington Post. "We are returning to our roots and what we do best, which is finding great talent, cultivating great talent and having a laugh along the way. And not take ourselves too seriously. I mean, we can't get caught up in that. We need to just have fun and laugh a little bit."
It appears that keeping the female count to a minimum (read: just one) in the judge's line-up is key to keeping the peace and focus on the contestants themselves. Which brings us to the scoop on who made it to Hollywood week.
David Oliver Willis, an "American Idol" returnee from season 12, is one of them. There have been speculations that he made it to the L.A. leg once again and that he may not be the only "returnee" to compete during Hollywood week, according to American Idol Net.
The same site also provided a leaked list of contestants who received Golden Tickets and will be seen in the Los Angeles audition rounds:
Alex Preston
Alexa Gilomen
Alexis Williamson
Amber Renee Dundee
Aranesa Turner
Austin Percario
Ayla Stackhouse
Benjamin "Ben" Boone
Carlton Smith
Casey Thrasher
Caylie Gregorio
David Oliver Willis
Erin Christine Prestileo
Ethan Harris
Garrett Nichols
Hayley Pettinato
Jay Zidor
Jillian Jensen
Justin Fira
Keith London
Kenzie
Keri Roche
Lauren Ogburn
Marcus Holloway
Marrialle Sellars
Megan Miller
Melanie Porras
Michelle Dimov
Nestor Luis Cruz
Rich Lafleur
Richie Boggs
Sam Woolf
Sarina-Joi Crowe
Spencer Lloyd
Stephanie "Steph" Marie Hanvey
Steven Curd
Treyvon Derring
Troy Durden
Tyler
Despite this lengthy list, American Idol Net maintained that they cannot guarantee that this information is "100 percent correct." This means it's possible that your favorite contestants who are not in this list may show up during Hollywood week and vice versa.
We'll keep you posted on the latest American Idol updates so keep checking back with us at Latinos Post!