Idol Chatter & Voice Views

With judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. back in the fold, the 15th and final season of American Idol will kick off Wednesday, Jan. 7. (FOX Photo)

The Season 15 premiere airs Wednesday, Jan 7.

And to help spark interest, the show released clips of three auditioners from that premiere episode today.

Below you’ll hear longtime Idol fan Michelle Marie sing LeeAnn Rimes’ “Blue,” Alex Sasser take on Bruno Mars’ “Count on Me” with a pink ukulele and Josiah Siska cover his idol, Johnny Cash, with “Riders in the Sky.”

It’s not difficult to understand why Idol selected these clips to share. I’ll be shocked if all three don’t advance to Hollywood.

Josiah’s baritone brings back memories of Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery. Alex showed up in the audition room with her husband Jordan, who was also auditioning, and their adorable baby. Michelle Marie is all of 15 and quite talented.

That premiere episode starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, to be followed by another two-hour audition episode the next night.

One schedule I saw indicated Idol might squeeze all of its auditions into three nights this season. If so, that’s a refreshing change.

Another change: Check out those monitors outside the audition room that allow family and friends to witness what’s going on inside. I’m surprised it took Idol 15 years to come up with that.