It had to happen sometime today. The New York callbacks were today and film was going to be rolling. So “American Idol” finally filled its judges chairs empty from the departing Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.
Joining the already announced Mariah Carey will be flamboyant hip hop star Nicki Minaj and Aussie country star Keith Urban. That Randy Jackson will be the lone holdover from not only last year but all the previous seasons was never a sure thing.
According to some reports, he was only rehired after the show failed to come to terms with Enrique Iglesias.
So there are Grammy winners with substantial sales figures on the panel. But can they judge?
No doubt they’ll have their opinions. But are recording artists looking for the same thing in voices that hardened record executives are? This is where Simon Cowell excelled – he was looking for new talent because he wanted to make money.
Existing stars can be complimentary but they never have anything riding on thumbs up or down; they’re not as invested in the process and it shows.
Some win and some lose and that’s how it goes. But one thing stars never are is jealous of the talent or worried that who ever wins will soon overtake them on the charts. That hasn’t happened for years on “Idol.”