Have All The “American Idol” Judges Been Fired?

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Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Word is that all the “American Idol” judges will not be asked back for the next season, according to the New York Post.

“All four are gone,” the insider told TheWrap. “They feel they’ve lost their core audience and they want it back.”

Driven by this belief and the need to attract younger viewers, Fox is set to make major on-air changes to “Idol,” the most notable of which will be an entirely new judging panel. New judges pop icon Mariah Carey, rapper Nicki Minaj and country star Keith Urban won’t be back. Even original judge Randy Jackson won’t survive the blood bath this time around.

All four judges have options to return for another season, but Fox won’t be picking them up, according to the knowledgeable individual, who said: “No more big checks for divas.”

Fox’s meltdown has everything to do with the talent competition’s declining viewership. Its ratings are already down 22 percent this season and it hit a series low for ratings last Thursday, when it attracted only 11 million viewers and a 2.4 rating/7 share in the ad-coveted 18-49 demographic. The ratings slide is especially problematic during May Sweeps, where ratings numbers are used to dictate advertising rates.

The network has resolved to stop paying the huge salaries it has been shoveling out for its big name talent, i.e. Carey’s reported $18 million package, Minaj’s $12 million salary and former judge Jennifer Lopez’s $15 million.

I, for one, am not upset that they are scrapped. As a matter of fact, I honestly think the show should be canceled. When “American Idol” first came out, it was fresh and fun. We really got a chance to see our favorite hopefuls mature throughout the competition, and we didn’t mind that we had to stay on the line to vote for Fantasia or Ruben Studdard because we actually cared.

Now the show is more focused on the judges, and it’s like contestants who? A show about a singing competition should never be about the judges. We see these guys all the time in their other ventures, let the people who are trying to make something of themselves get some shine. And it’s not even interesting anymore. I remember not one idol after that old-young guy with the gray hair. Ratings down 22 percent? Don’t blame the judges. Blame the execs for thinking they could save a show by adding Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey for over $10 million each. What were they thinking?

And these fights? So corny. When it first happens, you’re all, “Ohhh, looking at them fighting!” Then after the seventeenth time it’s like, “Y’all are still doing this?” And Randy Jackson is still throwing up fake gang signs and saying “dawg”? Girls, bye.

Over them. Over “American Idol.”

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