Harry Connick Jr. may be joining Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban at the judge’s table during the new season of “American Idol”.

The 45-year old singer has experience on the show already, as he was a mentor and guest judge during season 12. Producers on the show realize he’s pretty far outside the youthful demographic that the reality competition draws in, but after the epic clash between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj last season, they are eager to earn back the older viewers who were turned off by it.

Connick has said in the past that he’s not sure how he’d be as a full-time judge, but elaborated on what he thinks the show is looking for.

I mean I had a really good time! I had a good time mentoring,” Connick Jr. told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview. “Judging is a whole different deal; I don’t know how good I would be at that. I think you need to be completely honest, and I think you need to be diplomatic. I think there’s no reason to be mean, but it is called being a ‘judge.’ You have to judge. That’s what you do.”

He may have been referring to former judge Paula Abdul’s penchant for being overly nice to the contestants rather than giving them constructive criticism. And while he hasn’t confirmed the rumor that he’ll be joining the panel, he did tell E! News that he’s aware his name is being thrown around by producers.

“It’s a fun show. It’s been talked about before, who knows what’ll happen in the future,” he said. “What I’ve done thus far on the show has been really fun, so I’ve had a great time.”

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