American Idol Judges: Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, Enrique Iglesias Top of the List

By On 08/17/2012 · 186 Comments · In American Idol

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We couldn’t get through a Friday afternoon without more American Idol judges’ rumors, could we? The latest goss comes from The Hollywood reporter.

It looks like  Idol brass really wants to sign on R&B/Hip Hop artist,  Nicki Minaj for the panel, but her mega sponsorship deal with Pepsi is causing a roadblock. As most of you know, Coke is a major American Idol sponsor.

If FOX and Freemantle had their way, the panel would consist of previously announced judge Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, a country star (the leading candidate is Keith Urban, says an insider) and a Latin artist (Enrique Iglesias is reportedly the #1 choice).

But it’s not all smooth sailing inside Idol. There’s been some inside indecision and squabbling that has Mike Darnell (FOX cheif) and Cecile Frot-Coutaz (Freemantle) shutting Core Media boss, Marc Graboff, out of the decision making process. CORE media is the newly christened (formerly CKx) owners of American Idol.

And what of our poor beleaguered  Randy Jackson?  He may step pinto a mentoring role–perhaps taking Jimmy Iovine’s place (NOOOOOOOO). At any rate, the DAWG will be sticking around to at least hold Mariah Carey’s hand as she embarks on her new gig.

HOORAY KEITH URBAN. Please make this happen.  Nicki Minaj comes off as pretty weird, and I have to wonder if the producers are hoping for some sparks with Mimi. If Nicki, Mariah, Keith and Enrique are the configuration they’re looking at, it could be pretty strange.  I mean that in a good way.

I think Idol WILL go with 4 judges, like the other shows. There will be plenty of time for judges chatter–like the other shows, Idol will also stay at a bloated 2 hours on Wednesday nights.

When Idol was at the apex of its popularity in season 5, performance episodes were 1 hour and results 30 minutes. Fox used the time slot after Idol to launch new shows. House, 24, Glee and more can thank Idol for sending them off on successful runs.

 
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  • Anonymous

    Its a shame they havent figured out those god awful 50+ have the money to spend and if they are like me, support the Idols by buying their music.  Apparently, the ones Idol and the sponsors want, don’t so much.

    Younger people are buying more music, but that doesn’t have anything to do with television.  Advertisers are interested in younger consumers, because they are less brand loyal, and more open to buying new products.  They are also hard to reach, which is why advertisers will pay so much to buy time on a show like American Idol.

  • Anonymous

    Well a lot of people here may have to prepare themselves to not watch idol, lol. Nikki has cancelled her sept/Oct tour dates for a special secret project. Maybe it’s Idol? I hope so!

    http://www.contactmusic.com/news/nicki-minaj-postpones-tour-dates_1381043

  • http://lost-erizo.livejournal.com/ LE

    No, actually I read the whole thread.  I just thought that the majority of it was irrelevant except for the bits that were hilarious.

    Whatever your opinion of Cowell and Jackson, they plus Paula were a relatively successful recipe for nearly 10 years.  AI has never been interested in getting judges who were credible or accurate about the singing.  If they were they’d add a voice coach to the panel – someone who actually knows something about singing, and they’d try to make their laughable voting system somewhere close to being fair.  But that’s not what it’s ever been about about – it’s a reality show. It’s the contestants who are important, and even there the producers are more interested in the story arc they can build than the quality of the singing – the judges are there to give some reactions that aren’t too laughable, generally be entertaining and occasionally actually advise the contestants.  If they can attract some specific important demographics to the audience while they do that, even better.

    And frankly I’d take the opinion of an A&R person over that of a voice coach or performer.  Even if it’s not the main goal, the top 2-3 contestants are going to be promoted as pop stars.  It would be nice if they were people who actually had some mass appeal (although technical excellence would also be nice. I actually enjoy discussion of singing technique, but I’m a geek about
    that stuff – it would be boring or irrelevant to most viewers.).

  • Anonymous

    Predictions are that for the first time there will be more digital music sales than physical ones once the year is over.  That would be one of the outcomes of younger people buying digital singles, while older people are buying catalog albums.

  • Karen C

    I’m just wondering where it was published that the median age of the show was now 50+?  All the ratings I’m seeing say last year’s Idol was still the #1 or #2 show among 18-49 viewers, though the ratings were down a significant amount.  I am also seeing  that AI was #1 in total viewership, which would include all age groups.  
     
    And assuming that a significant number of the audience is in the 18-49 anyway, I think the effect of someone like Nicki Minaj would be to draw an audience of a different genre, rather than really change the age of the audience. 

    ETA: Just found an article that says this http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Who-will-replace-Lopez-Tyler-on-American-Idol-3702907.php.

  • http://twitter.com/BamadansPad Danny Latham

    MJ, you’ve been quoted on Taste of Country as it relates to Keith Urban:

    http://tasteofcountry.com/keith-urban-leading-contender-american-idol-judge/ 

  • Anonymous

    “I really don’ care who is sitting on the panel except for the previous idol whose name has floated around too many times.”

    Let me guess… would that be Adam Lambert you’re talking about?
    I would love to see him over the majority of people that have been mentioned so far.

  • Incipit

    You are a Search Ninja, Eilonwy, nice job! I’m glad the description of the discussion was useful – (and saved me the search – Heh.) 
    That was lame, a 2008 article using data from 2000. I ought to have dug deeper into the sources.

    But, per Billboard, can one conclude that new artists’ lower sales are not because of epidemic file sharing, a claim I frequently encounter – but a different mix of causes? Or if the aging of Americans means less support for new musicians, but the increase in catalog sales reflects that music they do like is being purchased by ? generations, just not predominantly new, or Pop? Are the catalog sales mainly digital, or hard copies?

    Every answer opens up new questions – and there is nothing definitive, I know – but I still find it fascinating. 

    Good discussion!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PSHFTD4YV3QOE3INABJUXZSWMU hillstreetblooz

     http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00047068.html

    http://cnsnews.com/news/article/voice-positive-nbc-ratings-0
    ——————————————————————

    2 additional points of reference re: Idol audience

  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    Not looking at the family problems of the Jacksons – I would much rather have JANET JACKSON as a judge than Mariah or Nicki.  Her recording catalog includes everything from Pop to Hip Hop.

    Do you think some of the 50+ parents and Grandparents buy music for the teens in their lives?  Hmmmm…

  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    It would be nice if they were people who actually had some mass appeal (although technical excellence would also be nice. I actually enjoy discussion of singing technique, but I’m a geek about that stuff – it would be boring or irrelevant to most viewers.).

    LE, I am with you on this point!  That’s why I enjoyed the way BEN FOLDS judged on THE SING-OFF.  I actually learned things and enjoyed him.  The other two judges, Sara and Shane were also good!  But then, there was no DIVA on the show.  This seems to be a requirement of ALL judging panels nowadays.

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