'American Idol' Returns: What to Expect From the 14th Season

— -- Is this the year that "American Idol" stages a big comeback?

We'll find out, starting tonight, as the 14th season of the Fox reality competition kicks off.

Last year, viewers were positive about the show's new judging panel, featuring Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, all of whom are returning this year. But still, USA Today reports that for season 13, ratings were down for the third year straight. In addition, the debut album from last year's winner, Caleb Johnson, wasn't a success. To top it all off, longtime "Idol" mainstay Randy Jackson left the show, Coca Cola pulled out as a sponsor, and later this season, the show will cut back to just one night a week.

However, the show is adding a new mentor, Scott Borchetta, the head of Big Machine Records and the man who turned Taylor Swift into a superstar. And the judges are bullish on this year's batch of contestants.

"There's probably, maybe, five, six, seven people that I think are really going to be duking it out, and then all the others that we've chosen have shown sides that are really surprising," Urban said. "When they get the right song, they really step up. It's that classic thing where the dark horse can just completely trump the expected winner, and I think there's going to be a lot of that happening this season."

The country star is also happy about the addition of Borchetta. "I think it's terrific," he said. "I think he's got such a good sense of how to find great talent and how to make the right record and get the right people assembled. I think he's going to be an extraordinary addition to the whole family."

Asked what's changed about this season, host Ryan Seacrest joked to ABC News, "Jen has a whole new closet of shoes. So her shoes are very different this year. We’ve auditioned some of the shoes. And we’ve also auditioned the contestants."

Turning more serious, he added, "We brought back a bunch to Hollywood who are really good. They’re all very different...there’s a lot of different textures on the show this year, so looking forward to introducing that crop to the audience."

Still, the loss of Jackson will leave a hole in the show, Seacrest acknowledged. Now, he's the only remaining on-camera star from the show's first season.

"I’m obviously sad to see him go because I loved working with him," he said. "But I see him quite often and he will not be absent from my life. He and I see each other quite a bit. So we’ll miss him, but the show will go on, but never be the same without him."

As for Scott Borchetta, the newest member of the family, the opportunity to be on the reality TV series has been fantastic.

"I’m having a blast. Working with these kids, it’s what we do every day at the Big Machine Label Group, as far as developing talent," he told ABC News. "Now, we have an opportunity to start very early on and really help them develop and make sure they’re ready for what their life could look like after they win."

Borchetta noted though, that these days,to win a reality singing competition, it takes a lot more than just a killer voice.

"What these shows have done is they’ve kind of leveled the playing field for great singers," he explained. "You’ve got to have artistic vision, you’ve got to be great socially, etc. So I think there’s a real opportunity for us to go in and make them aware of all the things that they need to be, you know, to, to win this and be successful in 2015."

What fans may be most excited about this season is the prospect of not having to sit through the dreaded results show. As Borchetta explained, that's a very good thing.

"In this media moment, we can tell the whole story in one night," he said. "That second night you’re going, ‘All right, I’m waiting around all this time just to get to the last three minutes.’ So now you don’t have to. So now it will be a really great episode every night and every night counts, which I think is, is really important."