Mariah Carey caused a bit of a stir this week when she said this about being on the “American Idol” judge’s panel:
“It was like going to work every in hell with Satan.” In an interview with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez on Tuesday, Nov. 12, Carey said, “Honestly, I hated [Idol] … I thought it was going to be a three-person panel,” but the show included four judges. So, I’m guessing she’s talking about Nicki Minaj, with whom she clashed weekly.
But there were good things about the show, too. “I loved the contestants,” said Carey. “And some of them that were so good — and really good people, you could tell — it was disappointing when they would, for political reasons, not put people through. I’m like, ‘I don’t need to sit here and do this.’ I would prefer to just put this person in the studio, record a record with them. Or tell another producer, ‘Yo, you should produce this artist because they’re beautiful, they can sing, they’re talented.’ ”
Neither Carey nor Nicki Minaj will return for season 13 of “Idol.” In their place, Fox executives are bringing back Jennifer Lopez (yay!) and newly-inducted judge Harry Connick, Jr. to fill the vacancies. They’ll join Keith Urban at the judge’s table.
This seems like a smart move. Connick is funny, he’s been in the music business forever, and he’ll be a good person to help mentor the Idols.
Connick threw some tweet shade at Carey yesterday, tweeting this: “Must’ve been hard to judge in hell [angry face emoji],” he wrote. “Idol XIII: welcome to heaven! [happy face emoji].” Connick tagged fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, show host Ryan Seacrest and the official Idol Twitter account in his post.
When the news was announced in September, Urban — the one remaining judge from the previous season — released a statement, noting, “I think this season of Idol is gonna be a blast. New team, new energy, and a whole new field of artists to be discovered and given a chance!”
I love Mariah Carey, but she often seemed a little disconnected from the show and the contestants. Lopez, while still being a superstar, seems more down-to-earth. Someone you could sit down with and talk with about whatever.
And I’m glad to see Nicki Minaj go. Look, I know she has lots of fans, but she seems lacking in the class department, in my view. I can’t take one more selfie of her behind or one more music video where she struts around nearly naked. You don’t need to do that to be a super star (note to Miley Cyrus).
With Lopez, Connick and Urban as judges, and Ryan Seacrest as the perennially perky host, I’m looking forward to the 13th season of “American Idol.” How about you?
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