MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) – Colton Dixon says the new crop of contestants on “American Idol” have no idea what they’re getting into.

Dixon says viewers never see how much work it takes to compete on the show. He says he put in “two or three years’ amount of work in two or three months.” Dixon says a typical day lasts 12-to-14 hours, “every day, non-stop.” He says “you barely have enough time to sleep let alone eat.” Dixon says “it’s just insane.”

Season 12 starts tomorrow.