Will Mariah Carey Joining American Idol Bring Jennifer Lopez Back?
We all knew she was joining the cast, the questions that were on everyone’s mind was, “How Much” and for “How Long”.
Kevin Reilly of foxed announced yesterday that the deal was done. Mariah then said a few words,
“I am so excited to be joining ‘American Idol, This kind of all just happened really quickly.”
Then Simon Fuller – not to be mixed up with Simon Cowell also put his stamp of approval on things,
“We are proud to have one of the world’s greatest-ever female singers join our show, Mariah defines the word ‘Idol’ and will inspire every singer that has the honor of performing in front of her.”
She is just one replacement. The jury is still out as to her others will be although producer Nigel Lythgoe was hopeful that Jennifer Lopez would return (which contradicts reports that she was fired).
Nigel told the press on Monday,
Since she told “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest she was 99 percent sure she was leaving, that means there’s a 1 percent chance she won’t, Lythgoe said Monday.
But Nigel was also on record for telling critics that the show should be refreshed each season with new judges, which I personally totally disagree with.
For Carey this is an extremely calculated business move. She is making $18 million for a one season option making her the highest paid judge on any music competition show. Aguilera is at $10 million for “The Voice”, Britney Spears is at $16 million for “The X Factor”. Howard Stern is rumored to have gotten $20 Million for AGT but it’s not classified as a “music” competition show.
Carey is also working on her newest album and this will be a ridiculous amount of free promotion. Carey said,
“I’m currently in the studio working on my new album and its first single, ‘Triumphant,’ which will be out early next month, I can’t wait to channel my creative energy as a part of this show which is a massive global phenomenon.”
Her husband Nick Cannon opened his mouth to give a statement but all I heard was “Cha-ching” and other cash register related sounds.
[more…]
