As had been rumored for a while, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have both publicly confirmed that they are leaving 'American Idol' after this season, following the announcement that Randy Jackson was also retiring. This leaves Keith Urban as the last judge standing, though perhaps not for long.
'American Idol' used to be the hottest show on television, but after 13 years, it's starting to show its age. The show's ratings have slipped from regularly having 30 million viewers to now somewhere around 11 million. And though the show has had some different judges over the course of its run, it's now looking to ditch all four current judges to have a fresh face for season 13.
Steven Tyler took to Canadian television to apologize to upcoming 'American Idol' judge Nicki Minaj for some comments he made that she took as racist even though no one in their right mind would.
Nigel Lythgoe, producer of 'American Idol' (and just about every other FOX reality show), insists that smackdown between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj was very real and wasn't conjured up by the publicity-hungry suits at the network.
Not because they'd never do such a thing, but because the timing is way off.
If there's one thing Ellen DeGeneres loves, it's kids on YouTube. This time she found the boy who was crying in a popular viral video because he isn't allowed to sing a racy Nicki Minaj song. She put him on the show and let him do his thang.
A while back, there were murmurings that some diva-licious sparring was already happening between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj on the set of 'American Idol.' At the time, the public was given a gentle pat on the head and told that no, none of those rumors were true so we should just run along and play because, really, Mommy and Daddy still loved each other so everything was fine just fine.
But now
The next season of the waning talent search show ‘American Idol’ began taping on Sunday, and after working their way down a long list of possible judges, the producers ended up with a panel that seems to include one too many divas -- and we can only hope the fireworks make it to air.