Idol News: Nicki Minaj As An American Idol Judge?

Yes, according to US Weekly, which later picked up by Billboard, the Super Bass singer will join Mariah Carey as a judge on American Idol.

Multiple sources confirmed to US Weekly exclusively,

"I'm not sure the deal is completely done yet, but yes, she is definitely doing it," one insider reveals. "A few more slight things to sign off on but it is happening." A second source says Nicki Minaj, is "100% confirmed to judge American Idol."

It's interesting to note that Nicki Minaj cancelled her fall tour and she tweeted the following last August 1, 2012,

@NickiMinaj Barbz, I now have 2 start the Fall tour a bit later than originally planned. I will now END the tour where I was originally planning 2 BEGIN 

@NickiMinaj When the barbz find out "why" I'm starting the fall tour a bit later, they will be VERY happy. #secretgang

@NickiMinaj *completely ignores the barbz' spazz session about the #secret and casually moves on to next topic*

To me, Nicki Minaj is a bigger coup at this point than Britney Spears on The X Factor. She's at the peak of her career and currently at the top of her genre - yes, more than ANY judge who has been hired for any reality singing show - and that possibly makes American Idol seem bigger and more important than I thought it had become.

I also think she's smart, sharp and obviously understands how to build a personal brand. She's someone who has been able to attract a diverse audience to her music, her popularity is wide spread right now and she'd bring a fresh genre into American Idol. And yes, she has this big crazy personality that's good for reality TV.

It's also pretty clear that she's not afraid to say what she wants, even directly to her fans, which god knows American Idol terribly needs now: honest opinions. And as judges go - Nicki Minaj is like a million times better than Randy Jackson. Haha.

Now, I read over twitter that some people were "upset" because she's just a "female rapper" with no actual vocal talent, but amazing vocal talent has never been a prerequisite on American Idol. Look, Jennifer Lopez can barely hold a note and Paula Abdul isn't far behind. Plus, Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Randy Jackson don't even sing. True, I'm still unsure of her ability to judge, but this complaint just doesn't make much of an impact.

Ultimately, the panel looks promising at this point. I think 2 women on the panel means that there will be 4 judges and they better have strong personalities that can stand up to the diva tsunami. Haha. Mariah Carey was quite opinionated and critical during her stint as mentor on American Idol during Season 7 and Nicki Minaj is also pretty blunt herself, so I like that these two strong women appear to have backbone and hope that they will be honest with the contestants and give constructive criticism, as well as be entertaining.

The men better have balls of steel to be able to handle those two, and while I think Brad Paisley - a rumored judge - has enough snark in him to stand up to these ladies, I just can't see Nick Jonas - another rumored judge - handling it. He'd be eaten alive. Haha. I wonder where does that leave Pharell, Diddy, and Keith Urban?

On a side note: I'm amazed that American Idol managed to work out the fact that Nicki Minaj is a Pepsi spokesperson, when one of the show's biggest sponsors is Coca Cola. Haha.

ETA: Up On Your Face - Mariah Carey (ft. Nicki Minaj)