In a move widely expected by industry insiders, American Idol executiveproducers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick "will be leaving the show,” a source tells The Hollywood Reporter. However, formal exit discussions have not yet begun.
It looks as if the American Idol summer tour, much like judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, is also a casualty of a ho-hum season 12.
Late on Friday, 19 Entertainment, the company that produces Idol in partnership with Fox and FremantleMedia, announced that nine dates of the North American trek have been canceled and one has been rescheduled. They include stops in St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Tulsa, Las Vegas and Oakland, among other secondary markets.
Rapper Nicki Minaj followed Mariah Carey's lead on Thursday afternoon, announcing via Twitter, "Thank you American Idol for a life changing experience! Wouldn't trade it for the world! Time to focus on the Music!!! Mmmuuuaahhh!!!"
Mariah Carey is leaving American Idol after a one-season stint on the show.
The singer made it official on Thursday afternoon with a tweet by her longtime PR firm, PMK-BNC, that read, "W/ global success of "#Beautiful" (#1 in 30+ countries so far) @MariahCarey confirms world tour & says goodbye 2 Idol." The message was promptly retweeted by Carey.
Following his debut stint as a judge on American Idol, Keith Urban is back to work on his upcoming album, Fuse, and has set its release for Sept. 10, The Associated Press reports.
As for whether the country star will return to Idol, well, that's all up in the air.
IDOLS TURN 70: One week after the season 12 finale of American Idol, the top two finalists can pick up Billboard magazine on the newsstands this weekend and see their names in print on multiple charts, something they couldn’t have imagined a year ago today.
The numbers are in on the American Idol season 12 finale, and it’s not a pretty picture. The Fox show saw a dip of more than 40 percent from the 2012 season closer, losing some 7 million viewers to come in at a 3.6 rating among adults 18-49. Total viewers equaled 14.3 million -- the first time a finale has not reached the 20-million mark since the show first aired in 2002.
While all three of the judges -- Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson -- took to the American Idol stage for the Thursday night finale, Nicki Minaj remained a spectator, despite earlier reports that she would perform as well.
AdamLambert returned, JenniferLopez worked the wind machine and Randy Jackson was honored with a farewell package featuring dogs, not dawgs. With season 12 officially in the history books, AmericanIdol pulled out all the stops to make the 2013 finale memorable.
After enduring weeks of live performances and judges' critiques -- not to mention the frosty Mariah Carey-Nicki Minaj feud -- Candice Glover has defeated Kree Harrison to win the 12th season of American Idol.
The audience was larger than usual, as the American Idol set moved from CBS Television City in Los Angeles to the Nokia Theatre, downtown at L.A. Live for the top two performance finale. But, as always, there were things you didn’t see if you weren’t inside the venue. The Hollywood Reporter observed them for you from a reserved seat.
Preparations are in full swing for Thursday night's American Idol grand finale at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre where, following Wednesday's showdown between Kree Harrison and Candice Glover, the entire audience was loaded out and a new one brought in for a pre-tape of Mariah Carey's performance.
Because in this battle of soul singers -- the first girl versus girl finale since 2004 -- Kree Harrison and Candice Glover, both wildly talented, have proven to be equally deserving of the season 12 title.
After 11 years on the air, American Idol continues to surprise: In an upset that few saw coming, Angie Miller -- piano player, power singer and bright-eyed Miley Cyrus doppelganger -- lost a spot in next week's finale to rivals Kree Harrison and Candice Glover.
