Mariah Carey & Nicki Minaj Officially Confirm ‘American Idol’ Exits

/sm/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/American-Idol-Nicki-Minaj-Mariah-Carey.jpg
American Idol - Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey

The rumors have been swirling since before the end of the season, but it is now official that both Auntie Mariah Carey (yes, I call her Auntie Mariah, I claim a lot of legends and icons as my relatives…so?) and Nicki Minaj will not be returning to the next season of American Idol .

Mother Lamb’s PR firm, PMK-BNC made the official announcement on Twitter stating:

“W/ global success of “#Beautiful” (#1 in 30+ countries so far) @MariahCarey confirms world tour & says goodbye 2 Idol.”

The official news then scored a second motion when Mariah retweeted the statement. A representative for the singer stated that her reason for not returning is due to a busy schedule which includes finishing her upcoming studio album, headlining the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular , a world tour in support of her new album and appearing in Lee Daniels The Butler , which is set to open in August.

The film also includes Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lenny Kravitz .

Nicki Minaj, who many people felt like shouldn’t have been on the judges panel to begin with, made her announcement on Twitter about her exit as well by saying:

“Thank you American Idol for a life changing experience! Wouldn’t trade it for the world! Time to focus on the Music!!! Mmmuuuaahhh!!!”

It has been stated by a few sources that Nicki was viewed as bad for the brand, explaining that, while the controversial star was meant to lure in younger viewers, she ended up turning off many of Ido l’s core fans, who now average 51.2 years of age.

In confirming Minaj’s exit, production partners Fox, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment stated:

“Nicki Minaj is a superstar who brought a level of honesty and passion to American Idol and who had a tremendous positive impact on so many contestants this season. Given her extremely busy career, we understand and respect her decision and wish her the best.”

Author