Nicki Minaj And Keith Urban Are New "American Idol" Judges

Earlier today, it was announced that Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban will join Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson as the judges for the upcoming 12th season of the hit reality TV show, "American Idol". This marks the first time the popular reality show will have four judges on the panel.

The two judges will join the rest of the crew next week, when the show starts auditioning for new talent across the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Chicago.  

Both of the new judges are superstars in their own music genre. Minaj is a multi platinum singer and songwriter, getting nominated for many awards including many VMA and Grammny nominations. Irvine is a four-time Grammy award-winning artist, and has sold over 15 million albums throughout career. Urban, also married to Australian actress Nicole Kidman, released "Get Close" in 2010, which produced three consecutive No. 1 singles. 

Minaj and Urban replace Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez, who became judges last season. After the show's star, Simon Cowell, left two years ago, the show has been unable to reproduce its early successes. According to a New York Times article, last season, the show dropped more than 30% of its viewership. Music superstars like Minaj, however, should be able to increase the popularity of the show among younger viewers.

With the addition of some new blood this season, Fox hopes to reinvigorate the popular series. Mike Darnell, Fox broadcasting companies president of alternative programming, said in a statement, "With an unparalleled star like Mariah, fan-favorite Randy, chart-toppers like Nicki and Keith and our incomparable host Ryan, we've put together one of the most exciting judging panels around." 

It seems the new judges are equally excited for the opportunity to be on American Idol.  Keith Urban, in a press release he made earlier today, sounded very enthusiastic about the opportunity. "It's really an honor to have been invited to be a part of the American Idol family...I'm looking forward to working with everyone and to seeing the same passion that I have for music in all of the participants."

The salary reports for the two new stars of American idol have yet to be reported, but Mariah Carey is reported to have signed a $17 million deal for one season, which is higher than Britney Spears's contact of 15 million for one year with Simon Cowell's new show, "The X Factor".  It's also higher than what Jennifer Lopez made last year. Lopez reportedly made $12 million last year judging for American Idol.