Mariah Carey Replaces J Lo as Newest American Idol Judge

Culture

Over the course of the first seven seasons of American Idol, everything was pretty much consistent: Ryan Seacrest would host the show, and Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell would judge the contestants. Even the show’s popularity remained constant. However, since then, Idol has been anything but steady.

In 2009, Paul Abdul left the show, and in 2010, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, and Ellen DeGeneres, her replacement, followed her. As substitutes, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined Randy Jackson in 2011 at the judges’ table, only to both leave two seasons later. As a result, with ratings dropping quickly, Idol hobbles into its 12th season with only Jackson and Seacrest.

This summer, the show, produced and directed by Ken Warwick, has been working hard to find two popular and current judges to replace Lopez and Tyler in order compete with the all-star judging teams of The Voice (Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton), America’s Got Talent (Howie Mandel, Howard Stern, and Sharon Osborne) and The X-Factor (Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, L.A. Reid). Rumors have been circulating all summer as to who these replacements will be, and just recently it has been reported that one candidate has signed with the show. Her name is Mariah Carey

Carey, a five-time Grammy winner who is ironically married to Nick Cannon, host of America’s Got Talent, will be a fantastic addition to the show given her musical resume. Let’s just say that she was the World Music Awards’ “Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium.” Although her twins Monroe and Moroccan might not know what show to watch, I believe this five-octave range singer will do well on Idol.

Now, who will sit beside Jackson and Carey at the judges’ table? Will it be an ex-contestant such as Kelly Clarkson, who is currently a judge on ABC’s Duets, Adam Lambert, or Carrie Underwood? Or will it be a star aimed at a younger audience such as the recently engaged Miley Cyrus or pop star Nicki Minaj?

Idol has already completed its first round of auditions, and is thus scrambling to find one more replacement before its second round of judge auditions.