“I love this show and I’m glad to be back,” the singer and actress said Wednesday at a press conference in Boston, where she appeared alongside her co-judges, newbie Harry Connick Jr. and veteran Keith Urban, for their first stop of season 13.
“Last year I went off and toured the whole world for the first time,” Lopez, 44, added. “It wasn’t the easiest thing to fit in this season of Idol, but I do love it so much … I did miss it.”
But with Lopez’s return comes the added pressure to improve ratings, which lagged during season 12, which had Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj sitting next to Urban.
Lopez says she’s not concerned with numbers. “I don’t think about that kind of stuff so much,” she said. “I leave that worry to other people – I have enough worry of my own.”
Still, season 13’s trio expressed a lot of excitement about bringing the show back to where it once was.
“It makes me feel good that there’s good feelings about American Idol,” Lopez said. “Because the show’s a great show and the focus is back where it’s supposed to be – on the show and contestants, and tuning in for some great entertainment, a few laughs and that emotion that comes along with that ride and that journey.”
From the looks of it, Lopez and her costars – who were cracking jokes and teasing each other during Wednesday’s press conference – may not provide the sparks that flew between Minaj and Carey last season.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Lopez said. “But I know we’re going to have a great time.”
