Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick on End of ‘American Idol’

“Raise your hand if you were born after June 22, 2002,” shouts comedian Jay Flats as he warms up the American Idol audience. If you were, he notes, than American Idol is older than you.

It’s a not-so-subtle reminder that the vocal competition has been a mainstay of popular culture for 14 years, beaming into our living rooms to introduce us to Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson and, yes, William Hung.

This is the final day on the CBS Television City lot in West Hollywood, California, the show’s home for all 15 seasons. After today, it would move down the road to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the three-night finale that culminates tonight, April 7th. But today, there’s a bittersweet feeling in the air.

“It kind of hit me on the way in to work today that this is the last time it’s at this particular set,” says Harry Connick, sitting in his trailer prior to the evening’s show. “Twenty-four hours from now, that whole set’s gone. It’s just going to be a sound stage.”

Connick has served as a judge for the last three seasons with Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. As much as it has been a talent incubator, Idol has also been about the judges panel and the personalities of the men and women on it, from Simon Cowell’s often brutal tough love and Paula Abdul’s daffy spaciness to Ellen DeGeneres’ one-season-and-peace-out stint to the holy hell of Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey barely hiding their contempt for each other. The final trio stands out as the most congenial pack of the 11 judges who have presided over the series’ run.

They’re close enough that after Urban tapes his performance of new single “Wasted Time” minutes before the live show starts, Connick throws his arm around Urban’s shoulder and enthuses, “Well done, young man!” They’re friendly enough to go out to dinner together with a small group following Thursday’s show.