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Jennifer Lopez Sounds Off on Kanye West's "Really Funny" American Idol Audition

Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest and the Idol crew reminisce about the surreal experience

By Jean Bentley Nov 20, 2015 8:28 PMTags
Kanye West, American Idol AuditionsMichael Becker/FOX

Remember when Kanye West auditioned for American Idol? You weren't dreaming. It actually happened, and his appearance with pregnant wife Kim Kardashian is going to air in January when the Fox singing competition returns for its 15th and final season.

E! News' Will Marfuggi caught up with the judges while filming the last-ever Hollywood Week round (pour one out for the poor souls who were up until 5 a.m. teaching themselves choreography to Adele songs, we salute you), where he got Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. to spill on the unbelievable moment. (No, really, they didn't actually believe it was happening.)

Allow host extraordinaire Ryan Seacrest to explain: "We were in San Francisco, and they said, 'We've got a contestant that's just going to jump into the line.' And up walked Kim and Kanye—Kim pregnant and Kanye enthusiastic and ready to go in there. He walks in there and does a lyric about J.Lo from one of his songs."

Watch: Kanye West's Surprise Audition on "American Idol"

Says Lopez, "Kanye just walked in the room, that's all I can tell you! That's all I know. For a minute, I was like, 'Is that Kanye?'...Even though I've seen him a million times, in that setting I just didn't expect it—but it was really funny."

Naturally, he sang one of his own songs. "He did a Kanye West song, which he did better than the original," says Urban of West's new rendition of "Gold Digger."

Don't worry, he didn't forget the lyrics. Jokes Seacrest, "I think he's got a future."

Watch the judges dish on Kanye's audition in the clip above. American Idol returns to Fox on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m.