Tenna Torres 'blows away' Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj on 'American Idol' premiere

"American Idol” kicks off Season 12 in Manhattan with glitzy homages to last year's winner Phillip Phillips, past stars, judges Randy Jackson, Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey, lots of chatter from host Ryan Seacrest — but just in case you're wondering what this show is now all about, we don't actually hear anyone, you know, sing until more than 10 minutes in.

Next up is Tenna Torres from Queens, who says she went to “Camp Mariah” as a kid and loved it. “Shut up!” Carey responds.

She's doing Carole King's version of “You've Got A Friend" -- and wow, she can sing. Slow, emotional; a bit pitchy but has the chatty judges dead quiet for once, listening.

“We're all sitting in awe, blown away,” Minaj overstates. But all the judges like her and she's through to Hollywood.

Long Islander James Bae, who says he loves Justin Bieber, is up next. He tells us people “don't just want a singer, they want a character.” Oh-oh, this isn't going to end well.

He's horrible. He can't sing at all and is completely off-key.

“I like you a lot, James,” Minaj says sweetly, asks him if he has a girlfriend. Carey tells him maybe he could DJ so he can be artistic without singing.