Ryan Seacrest reported that viewers are in for more than ever before this season. Apparently, the selected hopefuls are more determined than ever to win, and refuse to let anything stand in their way. Not even fellow competitors. Will backstabbing and scheming light up American Idol’s stage this time around? We’ll find out on January 17, when the new season premieres. This kind of buzz certainly whets the appetite:

This new round of Idol, however, may finally cross over into a reality-TV staple that it has since quite admirably dodged: backstage backstabbing. As host Ryan Seacrest recently told reporters — and Randy Jackson now confirms — that this flock of songbirds is more like a committee of vultures. “Every season, when we go out on the audition tour, we never know what we’re going to get,” Jackson reports. “I think the kids this time probably want this worse than ever, so there’s quite a bit of interesting fighting and dialogue going on amongst them. People’s egos are saying, ‘We’re friends and we’re all in this together, but hey, I want to win this — and I don’t want anybody to stand in my way.’”

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