ET caught up with the 'American Idol' stars at their first round of auditions in Georgia.
Be prepared for an emotional episode during American Idol's third season.
ET's Rachel Smith caught up host Ryan Seacrest and judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie on the first day of auditions in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday, where they dished on what they're looking for in a performer, and revealed that one contestant has already brought two of them to tears.
"Katy and I were actually crying [while] watching [an audition]" Seacrest said of a mother who patiently waited for her chance to sing for the stars.
"That's what this American Idol is about," Perry explained. "It's about finding that special moment, making someone's dream come true. It is, like, truly the definition of American Dream, which sometimes we feel is a little shaky and the time we're living in now, like, what do we have to believe in? And I think that we can believe in humans again and talent."
Bryan chimed in, saying, "That a mother of two can get in her car, be determined, say she's not going to hear the word no."
"She came to collect it," added Richie, with Perry saying, "And she's going to Hollywood!"
The gang is excited to be reunited for another season, with Richie telling ET that "every time you go back it's another group, another experience" that they enjoy.
The "All Night Long" crooner also shared what he's specifically looking at when someone auditions: identity.
"You have to start out with instant identity," he said. "If I can find instant identity, in other words, I knew you were a blues singer. I know you believe in that, that's your wheelhouse, that's who you are, BAM! Opposed to saying, 'I sing everything,' you know. Just tell me."
For Perry, she said that "authenticity is key!" "Being fearless, being vulnerable," the "Firework" songstress expressed. "Because…to be raw and vulnerable and to wear your sadness, wear your brokenness on your sleeve, to wear those emotions in your voice is what really translates with us."
Season three of American Idol is expected to premiere in early 2020.
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