Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey are leaving American Idol. The news was finally confirmed by the two stars after weeks of speculations on the matter. On Thursday, the two stars put the rumors to rest once and for all via Twitter. Mariah Carey was the first to deliver the news by retweeting a post from her rep: “W/ global success of “#Beautiful” (#1 in 30+ countries so far) @MariahCarey confirms world tour & says goodbye 2 Idol.”
The response for the network and from the show producers was issued shortly after and highlighted the singer’s positive influence on the show: “Mariah Carey is a true global icon — one of the most accomplished artists on the planet — and we feel extremely fortunate that she was able to bring her wisdom and experience to the ‘American Idol’ contestants this season. We know she will remain an inspiration to ‘Idol’ hopefuls for many seasons to come”.
Shortly after, Nicki Minaj confirmed she was leaving American Idol as well “Thank you American Idol for a life changing experience! Wouldn’t trade it for the world! Time to focus on the Music!!! Mmmuuuaahhh!!!”. The star’s contribution to the show was also acknowledged in a statement: “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,”the show producers and the network stated.
With Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj leaving ‘American Idol’, the future of the show is rather uncertain, especially given the fact that the the ratings of season 12 were the lowest since the show’s debut, making the levels of the first edition. Still, there were also rumors about possible replacements for the judges. Some sources have announced that Jennifer Hudson might be joining the show, this time as a judge, of course. Though other names were also speculated, nothing official has been announced on the matter.
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