Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj Exit American Idol

Surprise, surprise…or not. Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj have made it official – neither will be returning to host American Idol for a second season. Carey apparently wants to devote more time to her music and will be heading out on tour in the fall. She’s also finishing up an album and has a role in Lee Daniel’s The Butler opening in theaters later this year.
 
Carey’s PR firm tweeted the news, with Carey retweeting the announcement:
 
“W/ global success of “#Beautiful” (#1 in 30+ countries so far) @MariahCarey confirms world tour & says goodbye 2 Idol http://mariahcarey.com” – @PMK_BNC
 
Minaj also confirmed she won’t be back to AI next season, taking to Twitter to say:
 
“Thank you American Idol for a life changing experience! Wouldn’t trade it for the world! Time to focus on the Music!!! Mmmuuuaahhh!!!” – @NICKIMINAJ
 
Nothing about these announcements were unexpected as it’s been assumed for weeks that the American Idol judging table would look completely different next season. Randy Jackson’s already said he’s not coming back, and it was only a matter of time until Minaj and Carey also officially confirmed their exits. The only judge who hasn’t publicly said yes or no is Keith Urban.
 

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