Singing-competition show 'American Idol', which airs on Fox, premiered its Season 14 on January 7^th with the ever-popular audition rounds.

The Season 14 premiere saw lukewarm ratings and a preliminary episode with very little talent. While the first few try-out rounds do not usually produce profound talent and are watched mostly to poke fun at Kelly Clarkson wannabes, the show opened with one hour of lackluster content.

The second episode aired on January 8^th and seemed more promising. Posted online by Fox beforehand, the second hour of auditions was an improvement from its predecessor. The episode which aired on television was actually a bit different from the one shown online.

In an attempt to spice things up, the show chose to expose viewers to the Top 24 singers right from the get-go. However, the audience at home only saw the blacked-out silhouettes of the contestants, so there was no need for a spoiler-alert.

Coming back to the show were long-time host Ryan Seacrest, as well as judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick Jr.

On that note, 'American Idol' held its auditions in the hometowns of the judges, beginning with Keith Urban's, in Nashville, before continuing on to Kansas City for the second episode.

There were a few stand-out auditions, and next week's try-outs are sure to be full of deranged hopefuls as well as true blue talent. 'American Idol' has had to compete in the past with such shows as 'The X Factor', 'America's Got Talent', and 'The Voice', all of which have produced breakout signing stars.

'American Idol' has launched the careers of stars such as Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Adam Lambert.