The producers of “American Idol” are still gearing up to give their inexplicable viewership an experience worthy of their decision to replace Jennifer Lopez. Or at least, they’re scrambling to make up for their (justified) refusal to pay JLo $17 million. Oh, and they’re still working to replace Steven Tyler and that other guy as well. So far, diva extraordinaire Mariah Carey has been signed as a judge, and since they’ve probably got their diva quota filled for the season, the producers have gone a little less extreme and a bit lower profile with their latest announced selection: Nicki Minaj. Good choice?
Nicki Minaj — and her multiple personas — will be joining Mariah Carey at the judges’ table on American Idol, two sources confirm to Us Weekly exclusively.
“I’m not sure the deal is completely done yet, but yes, she is definitely doing it,” one insider reveals. “A few more slight things to sign off on but it is happening.”
A second source says the “Super Bass” rapper, 29, is “100% confirmed to judge American Idol.” Reps for FOX and Minaj had no comment when contacted by Us.
Minaj — born Onika Tanya Maraj — toured North America with Britney Spears throughout 2011; she will embark on her own world tour beginning October 21 in Nottingham, England. The rapper’s latest album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, debuted at No. 1 in April 2012 and spawned two Top 10 singles, “Starships” and “Pound the Alarm.”
On July 23, five-time Grammy Award winner Mariah Carey confirmed she will appear as a judge on American Idol next season. “As a singer, songwriter and producer, it’s going to be fun and rewarding to help find new talent and give back with American Idol,” the singer said in a statement. “I can’t wait to channel my creative energy as a part of this show which is a massive global phenomenon.”
As Us exclusively reported in late July, Nick Jonas, 19, is also in the running to fill one of the vacant seats at the judges’ table. (Randy Jackson, 56, is being moved into a “mentoring role,” according to a source.)
The “Who I Am” singer later confirmed the news via Twitter. “I am being considered to be a judge on American Idol,” Jonas wrote. “And it would be a dream come true if it happens.” N.E.R.D. rapper Pharrell Williams, 39, is also being considered, according to insiders.
[From Us Weekly]
Well, at least we know that Minaj must have been more affordable than the reported annual $12 million that Mariah tied down for her contract. I honestly don’t know much about Minaj except that her singing/rapping voice annoys me terribly, and I count her amongst the current unholy trifecta of weird costume antics (other members including Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, of course) whose so-called “shock” value outweighs their talent by far.
So this leaves the question of who the requiste “dude” will be on the judging panel. Nick Jonas seems like a likely choice because he’d probably be cheap (his solo career hasn’t done so great), and he’ll (theoretically) bring the young female demographic in to roost. Thoughts?
Photos courtesy of WENN
Mariah made me interested in Idol again. Minaj kills that interest.
Exactly
Yep
Exactly. Nicki doesn’t really have any singing talent. She’s quirky and cartoonish, but *actual* talent? Not so much. If I was a contestant I’d be insulted to have someone like her judging my singing. At least with Mariah, she’s been in the biz 20 years, can actually sing, and knows what she’s talking about when it comes to singing technique.
Idol, if you’re gonna court the teenage viewers, please pick people with talent.
Joe Jonas is fairly washed up, no? I feel like their fan base disappeared with the Bieber onslaught. I like the idea of Pharrell…he’s a Randy Jackson type, in that he’s done so much behind the scenes with writing and producing.
I think Idol needs to balance out their choices. Having Nicki AND Mariahand Joe Jonas makes things too r&b/pop. Remember, Carried Underwood was discovered on Idol. Keith Urban would be a good choice. They need to take a cue from The Voice, who were smart to put Blake Shelton alongside Christina and the ass from Maroon 5.
“and the ass from Maroon 5…”
That must be his real name, because I rarely hear him called anything else.
Agree.
I stopped watching after Simon left and was going to get invested again because Mariah was going to be on but now not so much she killed it for me to.
How woefully budget.
YES! I cannot stand Nicki Minaj and I don’t know why she is being shoved down our throats, just a bunch of cheap gimmicks and almost zero talent.
I adore Mariah, because a. she is a diva and she doesn’t downplay it. b. she has an amazing voice. c. she’s been doing this for at least 15 years now, so she knows what she is doing and is in the position to be a judge.
I cannot wait until Nicki Minaj fades away, but it is taking too long!
American Idol has now officially jumped the shark.
RIGHT!!! It’s bad enough Mariah collabed with her on a song, but this roach doesn’t deserve to sit and judge a talent contest. I wish the contestants would boycott the first day of taping and get her off!
Bad choice, horrible choice. I mean I watch one season of this already bled dry shit-show because I was in college, had one tv and had 3 young roommates that loves the shit. Haven’t watched it since and will never watch it again, especially now. All of these musical judging shows suck. Are they trying to lose veiwers?
Minaj wasn’t someone with some talent and doesn’t look like they get dressed in the dark available? She doesn’t have any talent and really what is she going to say to someone who really can sing and doesn’t need to wear bizarre clothes for attention? It seems very low rent the Jonas bros didn’t do that well at least not internationally. Maria has talent and record sales behind her and she can be kooky she can give advice but I think her demands are going to overshadow the show itself. It’s sad when it becomes more about the judges then the talent they are searching for.
I vote for wtf.
Second that.
Third that!!!
Ditto to the above WTFs!!!!!!
Yup!
Ditto, WTF
Hold your wtf – they’re talking to Kanye too. 😕 He’ll be interrupting everybody.
Nothing can save this show. Time to call it a day
It is said that Mariah Carey is NOT happy with this and hung up the phone when she heard it. Also the producers are concerned because middle America couldn’t handle 3 black judges *eyeroll*. I say Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood and some dude should be judges,
I just might watch it then just to see Mariah throw major shade Minaj’s way
Mariah DOES NOT seem like the type to play well with other women
but yeah WTF I can’t with this chick’s Voice/ hacked nose/spastic blinking and other assorted tics/weave/clothes Basically I Cant
Meh, I haven’t watched Idol for years and these 2 don’t inspire me to tune in. Think I’ll give it a skip.
Can’t stand her. She’s just such an idiot. Everyone pounces on Gaga for attention whoring costumes but she is waaaay worse.
And let’s all take a moment to recall the deep, interesting lyrics of “Stupid Hoe”
You a stupid hoe, (yeah) you a, you a stupid hoe You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe (stupid, stupid) You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe (you stupid, stupid) You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe (you stupid, stupid) (stupid, stupid).
Class act right there.
So poetic.
Ha ha ha!
That song is truly awful. & don’t even get me started on the video..smh
I almost died laughing though when she referenced the unholy triangle in the song. Too funny
LOL, the whole song is a hot mess.
I can’t even watch her videos. I can’t handle the different ‘characters’. And either the constant fast paced blinking, or the wide eyed non-blinking.
I hate rap, but she cannot even rap – she just repeats herself. Like the Spice Gits.
It’s all about entertainment and show, that’s all. It doesn’t matter who’s the judge, just as long as it’s a big thing enough to make some cash.
Totally wtf
WTF?????
All those famous judges for another “white guy with guitar” winner? Pffttt!!!
Nicki being the choice has made my decision NOT to watch a wise one.
zero interest in her or her annoying voice and non talent.
I am hoping this is a joke.
won’t be watching
Ugh. What a hot mess the show is going to be. Nicki has no talent so how is she going to judge or give advice to people who actually do. Her and her multiple personalities and funky attitude are losing her fans so I guess she needs the money.
NOOO to Nicky Minaj. Can she just go away.
I hope they hire Pharell. He´s without a doubt one if not the most important producer of the 2000s and successfull as a solo artist as well as with N.E.R.D.
He also seems to be a genuine, nice and down to earth guy.
I couldn’t agree with you more! Not only is Pharrell talented as hell as a rapper and producer(I have all of N.E.R.D.’s albums, they’re fantastic :D), he is a far more important and influential figure in hip hop than say Nicki Minaj. Hell, the guy is credited for being one of the ground breaking figures inside of hip hop. But ultimately, I guess the Idol execs wanted someone who is really hot right now, very recognizable and also has a huge young fan base. It’s the same reason AMTM Allstars (it was really late and nothing else was on TV, don’t judge me ok) chose Minaj as one of the judges: She’s not a model, but she brings in the ratings.
I don’t buy the rumors that Mimi isn’t happy with this. You think she didn’t make sure to get some sort of veto power along with her cash? Besides, they collaborated before in one of Mimi’s tracks – Up out my face.
And I really don’t think the viewers need an explanation as to why J-Ho was dropped. I didn’t watch the last season because of her, she is unbearable to watch and completely unqualified to judge anyone. Listening to her tearing down Haley Reinhart the season before was enough for me.
Damn for some reason I would love for Miley Cyrus to be a judge. Mariah and Miley would of been epic, now its a fail.
Before Nicki Minaj became popular (think pre- BOTH albums) she focused on her actual talent which is rapping and she didn’t do the over played, over done, RIDICULOUS, shock value clothing get ups she does now. She’s also apparently refusing to believe she can NOT sing.
I miss the old NICKI. The mix-tape, RAPPING Nicki who didn’t come off like a sell out with no talent.
Sad. Both for her and for us – THIS is where the money must be… what does that say about society! Eeew.
Boooooooooo! Why won’t this chick go away already. She is a gimick at best and a no-talent clown at worst. American Idol is scraping the bottom of the barrel big time. Nicki has barely had a career so how can she judge talent that will withstand time? Might as well get Ke$sha next. Ugh.
Good buy idol
I’m not going to watch mariah trying to steal the spot every night by wearing nothing and talking like she’s on crack.
Nicky minaj who? The no talent rapper known in other web sites for her fake ass and not her singing. Yeah! Right!
‘WTF’ is always used when referencing Nicki Minaj. This is no different.
As much as I love MC I can’t watch now b/c of this. Nicki is horrible. If I was Mariah I’d be disgusted she was the other choice (they did do a song together and it sucked) so she may be fine with it. There HAD to be other choices.
How does she keep convincing herself and those around her that that hairlie is acceptable ???
I find her pretty harmless but those cabbage patch weaves need to go !!!
Gross. All the way around.
Should’ve been Enrique Iglesias instead!
He can’t sing, either. American Idol and X Factor are beyond ludicrous, employing mediocre singers (Paula Abdul, JLo, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue) with the nerve to judge contestants who have one hundred times more singing talent.
Goodbye American Idol. It was nice while it lasted. If Mooriah isn’t bad enough, Minajatwat is 1000 times worse. At least Mooriah has talent. But they won’t be getting my time this season or any future season as long as this is the panel
I have always been a big fan of Idol and in fact have never missed a single episode throughout all of the seasons. I stuck it out through the Ellen Degeneres and Kara DiGuardo years and stil enjoyed the show. I was really looking forward to seeing MC as a judge.
Now that this talentless idiot is going to be on, I will absolutely not watch a single episode. It’s a shame; I actually feel a bit cheated. I always look forward to Idol but now, forget it.
Does the phrase “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” come to anyone else’s mind?
Pretty much agree with everyone this chick is a talentless aututoned famewhoring hack; yet pepsi and coke want her to be their endorser – she has no interest in music, just cashing in. Hollywood types just aren’t that smart; find someone with credibility not the popular cartoon of the day. ANd erinn if those are actual lyrics that’s beyond dumb anyone on this site can write better crap than that, and people get paid to do that.
As a rapper, Minaj isn’t exactly untalented. But whenever she’s not performing, she has such a vacuous look on her face that I can’t imagine that she has anything to say that would make her an interesting AI judge. But she seems to be great at starting fights and riling people up—so there is that I guess.
She is a perfect choice!
Minaj is exactly what AI and all those “talent” shows embody. It is not about talent, please, with these shows it never is. It’s about finding somebody hungry enough for fame that that person will adopt a new personality, look, image.
In other words: sell their soul for fame. Minaj and all those other twits are idols. The public doesn’t want a Fiona Apple or Björk, they want to see schticks and drama. They want to be entertained! Carey might be talented but why do people like her really? Because she is all drama, diva, funny in her selfish behaviour!
Producers are looking for somebody who sells unoriginal uninspired pop-rock music. Even if it is only for a year, it doesn’t matter. Next year, they’ll find another one.
hey NM, just curious, do you live in the land of enchantment?
Terrible choice. I don’t watch the show but I have a hard time believing they want her to judge the talent of singers. She cannot sing, she can rap moderately but annoyingly. This is not going to be good for AI.
I’ve heard that they are looking for a male country star to be one of the other judges. I’d heard that Toby Keith turned them down.
Can I covet her red boots in that first photo and still respect myself in the morning?
Brilliant choice! I can’t stand Idol … but the addition of Nicky makes me wanna watch. She has a fab personality!
Please tell me this is sarcasm?
I haven’t watched AI in years.
Was going to watch because of Mariah.
Will absolutely not tune in if Nicki will be a judge.
Terrible choice.
How bout Kim K, Nicki, Coco, and who ever else has a huge ass.
No more AI for me. It’s become ridiculous. Nicki Minaj is a joke. How can someone with no talent judge others?
I feel for the contestants. If you actually have talent it would be hard to take criticism from that sell out Minaj. At this point I’m hoping for an Epic Cat Fight.
nice and sexy !
Idol is definitely done now. Yuck!
Everything about this chick is WTF.
Well I was pretty convinced Idol has gone down the tubed since Simon left, but this just confirms it. Nicki Minaj, really? I guess no one else wants to have their name linked with this terrible show.
She does have talent whether she shows it or not.
Check this out: http://www.youngarts.org/
she won back in 2004 I think.