Yep. It looks like THE DAWG–Randy Jackson is returning to the American Idol judges’ panel, as Nicki Minaj, and Keith Urban close their deals. The trio will join Mariah Carey whose contract was signed earlier this summer. According to sources, FOX will announce the new panel by the end of this week.
From Deadline:
You can never count a dawg out. After months of speculation that Randy Jackson, the last remaining original American Idol judge, may be relegated to a smaller role on the show next season, in a last-minute move, Fox has made a deal with him to return to the judging table, sources close to the situation said. The network already had an option on Jackson, so the deal-making was relatively straightforward and was wrapped quickly after talks with Enrique Iglesias broke off. Sources indicate that the reasons to move away from Iglesias, who had been in negotiations for the gig, were not strictly financial.
From TV Guide:
The last minute return of Jackson comes after talks broke off with singing star Enrique Iglesias.
Negotiations are also in the final stages with pop star Nicki Minaj and country crooner Keith Urban to join Mariah Carey and Jackson on the panel. Fox is expected to announce the new Idol judges’ table by the end of the week.
Jackson was always expected to remain on Idol in some capacity — but as speculation about Iglesias heated up in recent weeks, it looked like Jackson might segue into a mentoring role on the show (similar to what music exec Jimmy Iovine already does on Idol). But sources say the Idol producers and Iglesias remained far apart on a deal (one source said Iglesias was asking for a salary in the eight-figure range), which is why Jackson was ultimately called back to judge duty. (According to one source, Minaj is expected to pull down around $10 million, while Urban is likely to make around $4 million.)
Did you see that? Enrique Iglesias was asking for EIGHT FIGURES? Alrighty then. (edited)
Also, Simon Cowell kinda let the cat out of the bag when he tweeted last night, “Just heard randy is back on idol. Right decision.”
