American Idol 2012

Nicki Minaj may well become a judge on "American Idol," but it will be at the expense of Mariah Carey, who we're told hung up the phone when she was told Nicki was the top candidate.

Sources connected with "Idol" tell TMZ ... Mariah was led to believe she would be the only woman on the judge's panel. Choosing Nicki would not only crush that expectation, it would add insult to injury because Nicki (29) is a lot younger than Mariah (42).

As for the composition of the judge's panel, we're told by no means is it a done deal. There are 2 scenarios being played out. First, it's unclear if Randy Jackson will come back as a judge or a mentor. If he leaves the judge's panel, there will be another spot to fill.

The second scenario ... we're told some of the honchos believe it's a mistake to have 2 women and a man on the panel, and a 4th male judge would be necessary.

As for who's still in the running, we're told Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Enrique Iglesias are leading the pack.

And there's one other thing ... Sources connected with the show say they're worried ... if the judges end up being Mariah, Nicki and Randy ... middle America might not welcome the blackout.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com#ixzz24ETS4nT1

 

That I haven't found a 2013 thread says it all. Also speaking volumes, the pending departures of various judges. I remember when they talked about the contestants leading up to the final, instead of which judges were getting axed.
Is there someone out there (who hasn't served as a judge on one of these shows yet) that would move the needle at all?
My guess, they bring back former contestants as judges. That's about the level they're at now.

 

We have watched every season, but gave up on this one five or six weeks ago. First we erased the performance shows from the DVR, planning just to watch the results, then dumped those too.

Part of it is my wife hated watching Nikki Minaj. I thought hers were the only honest reviews, but she's so annoying.

Don't know if new judges will bring us back. Maybe if Cowell returns, but that's unlikely.

 

The wife still watches. If you still had any naive idea that truly talented, undiscovered vocalists are the heart of the show, think again. It was so painfully obvious that the show was stacked so there would not be a male winner again. Is that good or bad? Well, good, because the result was the same thing five years running. Bad, because it's painfully obvious that the show is stacked to be whatever the producers want to cram down your throat.

Not that any of the other shows are better. The Voice hasn't produced a household name, and Duets was atrocious.