American Idol will see the return of all of last season’s judges as well as longtime host Ryan Seacrest for its upcoming 14th season of the singing competition. Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr. will all resume their familiar roles with yet another round of contestants.

“I am thrilled our consummate host, Mr. Ryan Seacrest, is returning for Season 14, together with Jennifer, Harry and Keith,” American Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller said Monday in a statement. “Their interaction, warmth and experience made them an absolute joy to watch. I can’t wait to see their evolution together continue next season.”

Sources say the return of these mainstays for the show will bring it some ‘stability’ in light of the overhauls the show has made in the judge’s seats for a few consecutive seasons. Will this help them, however, as they still try to compete for ratings with The Voice on NBC? They had hoped that bringing back Jennifer Lopez for season 13 and bringing ‘nice guy’ Harry Connick, Jr. on board might do that all by itself but that simply wasn’t to be. In fact the show hit an all time low in the ratings race on May 21st when the season 13 finale was aired.

They're back!!! @JLo, @HarryConnickJR and @KeithUrban will return to the judges' table: http://t.co/wNgrsU7G0P #idol

— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) June 24, 2014

Even though numbers dwindled a bit this past season for The Voice, even with the antics of Adam Levine and Blake Shelton as well as the addition of judges Shakira and Usher, they are still miles ahead of American Idol. What might the show do to further compete with The Voice?

Do you prefer American Idol over The Voice or is it the other way around–or are you not a fan of either of the singing competitions? Do you think the return of Ryan Seacrest as host and Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr. as judges will be a plus for the floundering show?

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