Following the exit of Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj, FOX has announced that Connick Jr., returning judge Keith Urban, and Jennifer Lopez—who was an Idol judge in 2011 and 2012—will scour the country together for music’s next big thing. According to FOX’s chairman of entertainment:

“American Idol has always been about discovering the next singing superstar, and next season our judging panel will deliver a most impressive combination of talent, wisdom and personality to do just that: Jennifer Lopez, the triple-threat global superstar who loves and whom Idol fans love; Harry Connick Jr., a bona-fide musical genius and fantastic Idolmentor whose honesty and expertise can help turn these hopefuls into stars; Keith Urban, a multi-Grammy-winning artist who was such a positive force on the show last season. We are also very excited to have our friend Randy Jackson now in a new role as mentor, and the captain of our team – the heart and soul of Idol – Ryan Seacrest returning as host.”

This panel certainly sounds less dramatic than the last one, but glad Connick the Crooner managed to climb the Idol ladder.