"American Idol" returns for its third season on ABC this Sunday night.
Judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan are also back, deciding which contestants get that Golden Ticket to Hollywood.
They also shared with ABC News all the mistakes contestants make during auditions -- and the best way to impress them.
Katy Perry relives a time when she 'did not want to get out of bed'
Don't audition with one of the judges' hits. Bryan says "performing one of our songs" will turn them off immediately. Perry adds, "Uh-huh! Thinking that's going to get them through, as though we're just so ...buyable!"
Don't change up a well-known song so it's unrecognizable. "Another [mistake] is when they take a classic and ... do something weird with it," says Bryan, recalling one contestant who took Paul Abdul's "Straight Up" and, as Perry puts it, "Jack Johnson'd it."
Don't try to dance and sing. "Sometimes it's just best to stand still, deliver the goods, and kill it," says Richie. Adds Perry, "Focus on your strengths."
Don't show up with a furry friend." "Don't bring your your pet," warns Bryan.
Don't perform a fast song or a Beatles song. "Anything that's too upbeat ... they think they're being cool," Perry advises. And Richie says Beatles songs are no good: "They don't "allow [contestants] to stretch out ... we don't hear their voice, so we have to ask for another song."
Do stay humble.
"Come in modestly and choose a great song that fits your voice, that pulls at our heartstrings," says Perry. "Have some presentational look, but just, like, come in there with great talent and willingness to learn."
"Let us discover you," agrees Richie. "When they walk in the door and go, 'I've got this,' you go, 'Well, no, you don't.'"
Do be the superstar you are. "It's basically called, 'Bring the whole package to the table, if you can,'" says Richie.
