NICKI MINAJ & KEITH URBAN OFFICIALLY UNVEILED AS NEW AMERICAN IDOL JUDGES
Rapper NICKI MINAJ and country star KEITH URBAN have officially been unveiled as the final two judges on AMERICAN IDOL, joining MARIAH CAREY and producer RANDY JACKSON on the new panel.
The full line-up was announced on Sunday (16Sep12) - shortly before the start of the first day of auditions in New York - with show host Ryan Seacrest posting a photo of the new gang on his Twitter.com page to welcome his pals to the reality TV hit.
Carey was the first to sign up for the gig this summer (12), while Minaj and Urban finalized their contracts this week (ends16Sep12) to join Jackson at the judges' table following the departure of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler at the end of season 11 earlier this year (12).
Idol producer Simon Fuller says, "With the exciting addition of Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj, alongside Randy Jackson, American Idol's star power has never been so great."
Urban's new job will come as a blow to bosses of rival talent show The Voice - the singer quit his role as a mentor on the Australian version of the program on Thursday (13Sep12) so he could jump ship and join the primetime TV hit in the U.S.
Tweeting his excitement, Urban writes, "SO excited to be joining the team on @AmericanIdol!!!!!!"
Season 12 of Idol will premiere in January (13).