Listen up, American Idol hopefuls! The judges are sharing the songs they’d love for contestants to skip during their audition, please and thank you.

“I’ve got mine that if you start singing it, I’ll start having shakes and hives and I’m close to passing out,” Lionel Richie tells Entertainment Weekly. “It didn’t happen this time — ‘It’s a Man’s World,’ which I’ve heard for seven years. When they start singing ‘It’s a Man’s World,’ I go, ‘Don’t do it. It’s not gonna work.’” 

That is, Richie says, unless the singer can prove him wrong and successfully step outside of James Brown’s shadow, which two contestants managed to do this season. “Twice they did ‘It’s a Man’s World,’ and twice they made it their song,” he added. “You wouldn’t know it was ‘[It’s] a Man’s World.’”

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Luke Bryan is honestly just glad that Carrie Underwood — who joins American Idol as its newest judge exactly 20 years after she first auditioned for the series — “didn’t have to live through the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ high years” like he, Richie, and host Ryan Seacrest did. And, from the simultaneous laughs and groans that erupt from Seacrest and Richie at the title alone, he’s not the only one who shares that sentiment.

“We heard that how many times, Ryan?” Bryan jokes of the Harry Styles track. “Listen, perfectly great song, but we were just like, watermelon sugar, high,” he says, singing a bit of the catchy tune. 

Seacrest, however, notes that the American Idol audition songbook has been changing this year. “I’ve heard them say a couple times, and this is new this year, that they’re influenced by Chappell Roan. That’s one of the big influences this year,” he notes. “More Tate McRae, too. We had a little bit of that in the past, but I’ve heard Tate and Chappell from some of the other contestants.”

And, while they’re on the subject of audition songs, the quartet know which of each other’s songs they’d audition with if given the chance. “I’m a country girl. I remember when I did audition, I was thinking like, ‘Oh, I better not sing country music, because this is not a country music show,’” Underwood says. “At the time, there was only one person that had made it into the top handful that was country. They were not looking for country music singers. So I was like, ‘I better not sing a country song.’”

Now, however, she might be a little bit more “bold” with her song choice. “It’s more a part of the culture and I feel like more and more people are seeing the value artistically and from a business perspective of country music. So I might pick one of your songs, Mr. Luke,” she says. “We were talking about it this morning, why not sing about Jesus? I’d pick your Jesus song.” 

Bryan immediately perks up at Underwood’s pick. “Ahh!” He cheers. “I got a new song called ‘Jesus ‘Bout My Kids.’ Carrie actually sang some lyrics of it [recently].” 

As for his pick? Well… “I would have used, probably, sail on down the line,” Bryan croons, making a reference to the Commodores’ 1979 song written by Richie. 

Ever the diplomat, Richie explains that he’d sing either Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” or Bryan’s “Knockin’ Boots” for his audition. “I’m trying to think what would be the ‘Brickhouse’ of today, and Lionel Richie is walking out with ‘Knockin’ Boots,'” he says. “I don’t know why I’m locked in on that — I’m just trying to think of what would make my grandmother not go to church like she didn’t go to church on ‘Brickhouse.’ ‘Knockin’ Boots’ would be perfect.”

Seacrest would also pull from Bryan’s discography. “I know mine. I’ve got it sandwiched in between Doja Cat and the Dave Matthews Band,” he teases. “What’s it? One Margarita, two Margarita?”

It is, in fact, “One Margarita,” and Bryan is officially overwhelmed with all the love he’s receiving from his costars. “Quit stroking my ego over here!” he jokes.

Watch a new wave of contestants audition for American Idol when the series premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams next day on Hulu.