http://music.yahoo.com/bl...16599.html

By Lyndsey Parker | Reality Rocks – 1 hour 51 minutes ago [circa; 8:30am pst]

On Sunday morning it was officially announced, at the first "American Idol" Season 12 callback auditions taping at New York's Lincoln Center, that hip-hop diva Nicki Minaj and country crooner Keith Urban have finally signed on to be the new "American Idol" judges--joining the panel alongside longtime judge Randy Jackson (who is still on board to give the show continuity, despite earlier reports that he was being demoted) and Randy's star managerial client, Mariah Carey. The odd foursome made their first official appearance at Lincoln Center this Sunday morning.

Nicki Minaj performs on "Idol" [photo: Fox]Although Nicki once claimed she didn't want to be a full-time TV talent show judge, back when it was rumored that she'd been approached by Simon Cowell to join "The X Factor," the split-personality star has apparently since changed at least one of her minds. This is probably due to the reported $10 million (plus additional allowances for hair and makeup) that Fox will be paying her. Or maybe when she once joked about filling Jennifer Lopez's seat with her own equally famous curvy behind, she wasn't really joking after all.

Keith is coming photo: CJ Hicksin as a relative bargain, since he's reportedly "only" getting paid somewhere around $4 million. But regardless, neither of these two new judges will be getting anything close to the cool $18 million that Mariah is supposedly pocketing.

Randy will actually be pocketing two salaries--his own as a continuing judge, and a cut of Mariah's earnings, of course. All this for a man who only days ago was supposedly stepping down. I have to give the man kudos for his tenacity--clearly he is in it to win it. Either the man has dirt on Simon Fuller and is blackmailing the show, or "Idol" producers have realized that it's not wise to throw the Dawg out with the bathwater and change up this time-honored show too much. I admit I'm glad Randy still in the mix, if only for branding and nostalgia's sake. Hey, even Randy's former "Idol" co-star Simon Cowell tweeted that this was the right decision on Fox's part!

Anyway, this ought to be interesting--especially where Nicki is concerned. Miss Minaj is certainly a colorful and polarizing figure, and she'll certainly make for some fantastic television. But is she really the right fit for "Idol"? There seems to be at least one person who may not be too happy about this news--Mariah, who according to TMZ was furious to learn that she'd have to share the spotlight with someone as flashy and flamboyant as darling Nicki. I have mixed feelings about this hiring myself, which I'll get to in a moment.

As for Keith, when rumors of "Idol" judge replacements first started circulating following the departures of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, the names of divas like Katy Perry, Celine Dion, and Aretha Franklin were mentioned, but no one was speculating that some country-boy-next-door type might land (or even want) the job. However, now that Keith has officially joined the "Idol" cast, I don't think it will be a bad thing for the show at all. In fact, Keith might be just what "Idol" needs.

Here are my thoughts on "American Idol's" new recruits:

ON NICKI MINAJ

She'll bring in an urban audience - Hip-hop and R&B are arguably the biggest genres on the charts right now, and have been for some time...but "Idol" has become increasingly white-washed over the years. There hasn't been an R&B-singing champion on "Idol" in eight years, and the few R&B singers who do tend to go far on the show, from Ruben Studdard to Michael Lynche to Joshua Ledet, usually traffic in a more old-school style. Meanwhile, "The X Factor" has become the singing show of choice for urban music fans, with a judging panel that includes former LaFace Records co-founder/Island Def Jam honcho L.A. Reid and an inaugural season that included many hip-hop/R&B-influenced finalists. "The Voice"--which features hip-hop star Cee Lo Green as a coach and crowned an R&B singer with Alicia Keys connections, Jermaine Paul, as its Season 2 winner--has also siphoned off some urban-music-fan viewers from "Idol." So Nicki, especially paired with Mariah, could definitely draw in a different audience aside from the core viewers that have consistently voted for five guitar-strumming rock/country/folk singers in a row--thus making "Idol" diverse and competitive again. This, of course, is a good thing.

She'll bring in a younger audience - Sure, many of Nicki's raps aren't exactly family-friendly, but she nevertheless has a very young and very adoring fanbase, the kind of kids who dress up like fairy princesses and perform viral videos of her songs. So Nicki will undoubtedly bring in that all-important youth demographic, something "Idol" sorely needs after years of being blasted for fuddy-duddy themes (Sinatra Night, '60s Night, Billy Joel Night) that appeal more to boomers than to record-buying tweens.

She'll be tough - Nicki has never been one to mince words in her raps, so I have no reason to believe she'll play the nicey-nice role once she's in the "Idol" hot seat. Just imagine if she took even one-umpteenth of the venom and fire in one of her diss raps, and unleashed all that on any hapless tone-deaf "Idol" auditioner. It'd be enough to make Simon Cowell blanch.

read more: http://music.yahoo.com/bl...16599.html

it will be interesting at best, or least.

[Edited 9/16/12 10:19am]

Nicki Minaj has no credibility to be judging anyone's musical ability. Her addition is a joke and completes the show's implosion.

Will only be watching the Voice.

X Factor and Idol have ridiculous judigng panels.

Mariah is not enough for me to watch. (sorry Mariah).

End the show.

Look at Mariah smiling,acting like it's all good when just a few weeks ago,she was trying to get the producers to hire someone else instead of Nicki Minaj Mariah is so fake and transparent...flashing a fake smile.She tried to get the producers to hire Lenny Kravitz because she doesn't want to be up there with the sexy,younger Nicki Minaj,who will surely steal the spotlight from time to time.

officially done watching AI after this....

I don't know why anybody ever watched this crappy show to begin with I never watched a single episode of this show...not even the episode when Prince appeared.The whole idea/concept of this show is GARBAGE.

[Edited 9/16/12 12:39pm]

O V A

SoulAlive said:

The whole idea/concept of this show is GARBAGE.

Agreed. How can you elect someone an idol ... for karaoke no less.

Where's the organic process of an artist having to truly create something that marks a moment and resonates with humanity.

Prince didn't get appointed. He earned that shit.

it's funny how people are trying their best to plot Mariah and Nicki against each other when things are far from that.

SynthiaRose said:

SoulAlive said:

The whole idea/concept of this show is GARBAGE.

Agreed. How can you elect someone an idol ... for karaoke no less.

Where's the organic process of an artist having to truly create something that marks a moment and resonates with humanity.

Prince didn't get appointed. He earned that shit.

Exactly! What happened to the days when aspiring artists paid their dues....playing at small local nightclubs,recording demos,gaining a small loyal audience,and submitting demos to record companies?

EPIC FAIL.

missfee said:

EPIC FAIL.

you mean like ?

free2bfreeda said:

missfee said:

EPIC FAIL.

you mean like ?

Pretty much. This show has been dying the same death for a few years now. Why for the life of me they keep trying to "save it" is beyond me. If it was any other show, it would had BEEN cancelled by now.

SoulAlive said:

SynthiaRose said:

Agreed. How can you elect someone an idol ... for karaoke no less.

Where's the organic process of an artist having to truly create something that marks a moment and resonates with humanity.

Prince didn't get appointed. He earned that shit.

Exactly! What happened to the days when aspiring artists paid their dues....playing at small local nightclubs,recording demos,gaining a small loyal audience,and submitting demos to record companies?

Well the days of....Inxs (not catching on till album 5) REM not catching on till (album 6) billy joel (not catching on till Album 5) Prince (not catching on till album 5) etc...are OVER, as Elton John said, You are either a hit first time out or your dropped, people have no attention span and labels have no patience and no money to invest and lose with the hopes of having the next Prince, Madonna etc.. Get used to this formula cause its being going on since soundscan was born in 1991 and has gotten worse every year

ABeautifulOne said:

it's funny how people are trying their best to plot Mariah and Nicki against each other when things are far from that.

Mariah tried to get producers to get Lenny Kravitz to be a judge which Im sure they asked and more than likely he declined. This was during the period where Nikki was rumored to be a guest judge on Idol.

Why would Mariah ask for another artist knowing that Nikki was rumored and in the running to be a judge? Nobody is them up against eachother.... thats Mariah

lastdecember said:

SoulAlive said:

Exactly! What happened to the days when aspiring artists paid their dues....playing at small local nightclubs,recording demos,gaining a small loyal audience,and submitting demos to record companies?

Well the days of....Inxs (not catching on till album 5) REM not catching on till (album 6) billy joel (not catching on till Album 5) Prince (not catching on till album 5) etc...are OVER, as Elton John said, You are either a hit first time out or your dropped, people have no attention span and labels have no patience and no money to invest and lose with the hopes of having the next Prince, Madonna etc.. Get used to this formula cause its being going on since soundscan was born in 1991 and has gotten worse every year

Agree.... it would be a LITTLE bit more helpful if the artitsts exactly had REAL talent they might would have some chance at staying power.

The industry just cares about making quick hits and money. They dont care about real artistry, raw talent and coming up with new ideas..... they just WANT MONEY

mjscarousal said:

lastdecember said:

Well the days of....Inxs (not catching on till album 5) REM not catching on till (album 6) billy joel (not catching on till Album 5) Prince (not catching on till album 5) etc...are OVER, as Elton John said, You are either a hit first time out or your dropped, people have no attention span and labels have no patience and no money to invest and lose with the hopes of having the next Prince, Madonna etc.. Get used to this formula cause its being going on since soundscan was born in 1991 and has gotten worse every year

Agree.... it would be a LITTLE bit more helpful if the artitsts exactly had REAL talent they might would have some chance at staying power.

The industry just cares about making quick hits and money. They dont care about real artistry, raw talent and coming up with new ideas..... they just WANT MONEY

and there in lies the problem, there is talent out there, but NO FORUM anymore, there is no venue to showcase artists, there is no variety show, no video shows playing 100's of artists, you get the same formula jammed down your throat 24/7 and then tv just picks up on that and gives it to you more and more.

And im sure someone is gonna argue that labels always wanted money, OF COURSE no one wants to lose, but they used to lose and not have an issue with it, there was room in the budget to lose money now there isnt, now people at a label are all "thinking big thing" "whos next" so that kind of thinking just breeds alot of the same artists, and these talent shows breed more and more too.

mjscarousal said:

ABeautifulOne said:

it's funny how people are trying their best to plot Mariah and Nicki against each other when things are far from that.

Mariah tried to get producers to get Lenny Kravitz to be a judge which Im sure they asked and more than likely he declined. This was during the period where Nikki was rumored to be a guest judge on Idol.

Why would Mariah ask for another artist knowing that Nikki was rumored and in the running to be a judge? Nobody is plotting them up against eachother.... thats Mariah

Exactly once Mariah found out that Nicki was being considered,she went on Twitter and started her own "campaign" to get Lenny Kravitz on board.Mariah wanted to be the only woman judge on that show because she feels threatened by a woman like Nicki.Lenny is a washed-up *male* artist who poses no threat to Mariah,and she knows this.Nicki,on the other hand,is a "hot",sexy,attention-stealing artist who is also younger than Mariah.

SoulAlive said:

mjscarousal said:

Mariah tried to get producers to get Lenny Kravitz to be a judge which Im sure they asked and more than likely he declined. This was during the period where Nikki was rumored to be a guest judge on Idol.

Why would Mariah ask for another artist knowing that Nikki was rumored and in the running to be a judge? Nobody is plotting them up against eachother.... thats Mariah

Exactly once Mariah found out that Nicki was being considered,she went on Twitter and started her own "campaign" to get Lenny Kravitz on board.Mariah wanted to be the only woman judge on that show because she feels threatened by a woman like Nicki.Lenny is a washed-up *male* artist who poses no threat to Mariah,and she knows this.Nicki,on the other hand,is a "hot",sexy,attention-stealing artist who is also younger than Mariah.

Utt ohh Soul...

What do you mean that Lenny is "washed up"? He just finished a successful tour earlier this year, no? I don't think he's no more washed up than Mariah is (with her worthless singles featuring sub par rap artists that present such a presence on her songs that it's like she's actually a guest artist on her own song ).

[Edited 9/16/12 14:49pm]

mjscarousal said:

ABeautifulOne said:

it's funny how people are trying their best to plot Mariah and Nicki against each other when things are far from that.

Mariah tried to get producers to get Lenny Kravitz to be a judge which Im sure they asked and more than likely he declined. This was during the period where Nikki was rumored to be a guest judge on Idol.

Why would Mariah ask for another artist knowing that Nikki was rumored and in the running to be a judge? Nobody is them up against eachother.... thats Mariah

Im still not sure where the talk of these two NOT liking each other came about? i hear Mariah loves her and wanted to work with her thats how the duet happend, i mean maybe when they made the video the HATE started when Mariah noticed that Nikki's fake......Was better than her fake......

wait, the women were sat apart! must be so they don't snatch each other's hair!

lastdecember said:

mjscarousal said:

Mariah tried to get producers to get Lenny Kravitz to be a judge which Im sure they asked and more than likely he declined. This was during the period where Nikki was rumored to be a guest judge on Idol.

Why would Mariah ask for another artist knowing that Nikki was rumored and in the running to be a judge? Nobody is them up against eachother.... thats Mariah

Im still not sure where the talk of these two NOT liking each other came about? i hear Mariah loves her and wanted to work with her thats how the duet happend, i mean maybe when they made the video the HATE started when Mariah noticed that Nikki's fake......Was better than her fake......

Rayan said:

wait, the women were sat apart! must be so they don't snatch each other's hair!

I see four people repellents, plus Mariah.

lastdecember said:

mjscarousal said:

Mariah tried to get producers to get Lenny Kravitz to be a judge which Im sure they asked and more than likely he declined. This was during the period where Nikki was rumored to be a guest judge on Idol.

Why would Mariah ask for another artist knowing that Nikki was rumored and in the running to be a judge? Nobody is them up against eachother.... thats Mariah

Im still not sure where the talk of these two NOT liking each other came about? i hear Mariah loves her and wanted to work with her thats how the duet happend, i mean maybe when they made the video the HATE started when Mariah noticed that Nikki's fake......Was better than her fake......

Probably

Honestly, Im sure Mariah probably respects Nikki but I feel like the twitter move she pulled was kinda ego driven

Rayan said:

wait, the women were sat apart! must be so they don't snatch each other's hair!

They all look fabricated and mis-matched.

SoulAlive said:

LOL at people wanting the show cancelled. You must not like anything so it's not like it would be replaced with something you would watch. What's that? You rarely watch TV at all? OK then.

Hudson said:

LOL at people wanting the show cancelled. You must not like anything so it's not like it would be replaced with something you would watch. What's that? You rarely watch TV at all? OK then.

missfee said:

SoulAlive said:

Exactly once Mariah found out that Nicki was being considered,she went on Twitter and started her own "campaign" to get Lenny Kravitz on board.Mariah wanted to be the only woman judge on that show because she feels threatened by a woman like Nicki.Lenny is a washed-up *male* artist who poses no threat to Mariah,and she knows this.Nicki,on the other hand,is a "hot",sexy,attention-stealing artist who is also younger than Mariah.

Utt ohh Soul...

What do you mean that Lenny is "washed up"? He just finished a successful tour earlier this year, no? I don't think he's no more washed up than Mariah is (with her worthless singles featuring sub par rap artists that present such a presence on her songs that it's like she's actually a guest artist on her own song ).

OK,maybe I went too far Lenny isn't "washed up".But you can see why Mariah would have preferred him as a judge,instead of Nicki.He's not a threat to her.He won't take away any attention from her.Nicki is "red hot" right now and Mariah seems like the type who always wants to be the center of attention....the GRAND diva.

Keith Urban was fantastic as a judge on the Voice here in Australia, very disappointed that he has ditched us for AI!!! definitely worth watching just for him, plus he is awesome on the guitar as well.

Nicki Minaj seems a strange choice to me, but I guess they are aiming at the teenage audience to get the ratings up.