Mariah Carey joins 'American Idol' as judge

GlobalPost

Mariah Carey will be joining the next season of "American Idol" as a judge, according to The New York Times.

Kevin Reilly, the president of Fox Entertainment, made the announcement on Monday that the network had made a deal with the singer.

Reilly also confirmed that Jennifer Lopez had left the show, saying, "I think I can say 100 percent Jennifer is not coming back," according to The Times.

Carey follows in the footsteps of Paula Abdul and Lopez in becoming a judge on the singing contest show which will be on its 12th season.

Entertainment Weekly said her salary is expected to be upwards of $12 million, and possibly even $17 million.

Reilly said, "It’s the biggest recording artist than any of these [singing competition] shows have ever had."

More on GlobalPost: Mariah Carey in 'serious talks' to join American Idol

According to Mashable, the five-time Grammy winning Carey has more number one Billboard singles than any solo artist in history.

The news comes as Aerosmith's Steven Tyler departs as a judge and the network also failed to convince Lopez to sign on for a third season.

"American Idol" has seen a star-studded panel of judges including Ellen DeGeneres, Kara DioGuardi, and the original trio: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson.

In a statement, Carey said, "As a singer, songwriter and producer, it’s going to be fun and rewarding to help find new talent and give back with American Idol," according to Mashable.

Ratings for the show were still significant this season averaging 18 million viewers per week, but they were down 23 percent, according to Entertainment Weekly.

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