Well, it looks like it is official – the new American Idol judges are Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.
Randy I really have no problem with. I was bummed he was possibly leaving because he is really the only original left (with the exception of Ryan) so I was glad to hear he would be back.
Mariah I am also excited to see on the show. I’ve been a fan of hers for a while and hopefully her being there will make people less likely to choose her songs because she is SO hard to match, let alone sing better than!
Keith I am also excited about. I saw him live thanks to Kris Allen’s band when Kris opened and they did a giveaway for tickets. Keith totally blew me away with his showmanship so I think he will be a great addition as well.
Nicki is the only one I am not so sure about. I’ve seen her live as well and while she is a great entertainer – I’m not sure I’d take her opinions on anyone singing? But who knows, she might surprise me! (And I’m interested to see how her deal with Pepsi will affect being on a show sponsored heavily by Coca Cola!)
In other singing competition judges news…
Christina and Cee Lo are out on the next season of The Voice and are being replaced by Shakira and Usher! They should bring a different but great dynamic to the show. I think that Adam and Blake are also said to be leaving, but no replacements for them yet.
It’s really no surprise they are leaving – Christina is going to be releasing a new album and will hopefully be touring to support it. Cee Lo is working on a TV show and Adam is set to tour in early 2013 with Maroon 5. I’d expect that Blake also has some stuff going on with his own career as well.
With the show being on so much more frequently now that it has taken off like it has, it probably leaves the judges little time to do their “day jobs”