I don’t even watch “American Idol,” but it feels like this has been a long, hard, strategically-timed road to find out which celebrities will be found on next season’s judging panel. Of course, we already know that this “Idol” business shall henceforth be known as “The Mariah Show” now that Carey is involved, and she was rumored to have pitched a fit when Nicki Minaj was supposedly “confirmed“ last month, but Nicki wasn’t really on board just yet. Then there was that awful story (probably put out by Katy Perry’s team) that Perry herself had turned down a $20 million offer to join the show, which is highly unlikely because Mariah herself is said to be receiving $12 million. As for Mariah, she tried to convinced the judges to hire Lenny Kravitz, but Lenny is far too cool for that sort of thing, right?

Well, Mariah can’t be thrilled at the last-minute announcement that Minaj really has signed on as a fellow judge, and so has Keith Urban! Hopefully, Keith will be sitting between the two ladies, or else this could get very, very ugly:

It’s official: Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban have joined Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson as judges on American Idol, FOX announced September 16.

In late August, an insider told Us Weekly that “Starships” rapper Minaj, 29, was “100% confirmed to judge American Idol,” while another source added there were “a few more slight things to sign off on” before the network would officially make an announcement.

Earlier this week, Urban, 44, quit The Voice in Australia, where he served as mentor during the show’s first season with “Kiss From a Rose” singer Seal, 49, Australian pop star Delta Goodrem, 27, and Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden, 33. “As much as I’d love to do it again, it’s clear that the recording and promoting of a new album, a tour and other commitments will keep me from being a part of the second season,” the country music superstar (married to Nicole Kidman, 45) explained.

Minaj and Urban join new judge Carey, 42, and veteran judge Jackson, 56, who will begin their search for the next American Idol in New York City.

“With the exciting addition of Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj, alongside Randy Jackson, American Idol’s star power has never been so great,” executive producer Simon Fuller tells Us in a statement. “For this we have to thank the ongoing commitment and belief of FOX and the dedication and focus of the Idol production team. We have all been together since the very beginning and we are focused on making Idol Season 12 the best ever.”

Mike Darnell, president of alternative entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Company, added, “Nicki’s an unbelievably captivating international phenomenon who has made an indelible mark on rap and pop. And Keith is another great addition to Idol — he’s one of the biggest stars in country music and I know that our fans and contestants will fall in love with him. With an unparalleled star like Mariah, fan-favorite Randy, chart-toppers like Nicki and Keith and our incomparable host Ryan [Seacrest], we’ve put together one of the most exciting judging panels around.”

[From Us Magazine]

Oh, and the mess has already started with Nicki presumably outdoing Mariah when they both arrived (already?) for the first day of “Idol” auditions in New York City. Wait, not so fast! You can see their photos here, and Mariah obviously looked pretty damn good in a relatively tasteful black suit while Minaj looked like her usual brand of technicolour mess. While I do forsee a few (likely on-air) bumps in the road for Mariah in terms of learning to deal with a female co-host (she wanted to be the only chick on the panel), I think eventually, Mariah will learn to ignore Nicki’s antics. Like I’ve said before, Mariah has quite the incentive (that huge salary) to learn how to deal with an annoying co-worker. She might even grow from the experience.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet