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Q: Tell us about the level of talent this year.

A: I think personally it's one of the strongest years we've had in a long, long time. It's younger. I think the talent is more current. They're more interesting people. So I go into this season a lot more optimistic than I went in certainly last year. I mean, Paula and Randy went on the record last year saying the bar has been raised and all that nonsense and it's going to be one of the best years. I didn't go along with that. I didn't believe it. But I will go on record this year saying it's one of the strongest lineups we've had.

Q: You made references to this year's contestants being more interesting people. How is that the same or different than talented people and in the audition process how do you look for interesting as opposed to necessarily the talented?

A: I am making these comparisons to a lot of artists that you see on the Internet now who are kind of doing their own thing. And they have a certain quirkiness and they have their own style. Rather than just a ton of talented puppets for want of a better word. These people just look more current, sound more current. They're definitely individuals. And I think three or four of the contestants we've got this year all would get recording contracts without "Idol." I think they're that good. It feels more fresh than I've seen before and definitely more memorable.