Mariah Carey Replaces Jennifer Lopez On American Idol Judging Panel

24 July 2012, 07:50 | Updated: 24 July 2012, 08:47

The 'Hero' singer will join the revamped judging panel for the next series of the US reality series.

Mariah Carey has been announced as the newest addition to the American Idol judging panel, following the departures of both Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez last week.

The Aerosmith singer and 'On The Floor' star Jennifer Lopez announced last week that they would not be returning for the show's upcoming twelfth season, and 'Hero' singer Mariah was officially announced as the latest new judge for the show yesterday (23rd July) by Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly.

"It's the biggest recording artist than any of these shows have ever had," Kevin said in the announcement statement. "It's an artist many of these contestants have tried to emulate. [The deal] only concluded only hours ago. Not being the only game in town we need to keep things fresh."

'My All' singer Mariah was then put on speakerphone at the press conference where the mother of two admitted she can't wait to start working on the show later this year.

"I'm so excited to be joining Idol," Mariah said. "I wanted to be there today and I wish I could've been there to tell you, but I think you know this all kind of just happened real quickly, so I can't wait to get started in a couple of months.

"It's gonna be so much fun working on @AmericanIdol," she later tweeted. "As a singer-songwriter, I'm excited to help find and nurture new talent. LYM! --MC."

Kevin Reilly also promised news of the third and final judge for the new American Idol panel will be coming later this summer.

"We have the biggest names in the business, like Mariah Carey, interested in doing this," he added. "So for the next couple of weeks it will be a matter of picking the right one, with the right chemistry, making the deal and finalising this." 

View a picture of Mariah Carey performing live in Morocco earlier this year below (Credit: PA):

Mariah Carey gave birth to twins with husband Nick Cannon back in 2011 and has been working on a brand new solo album for the past several months.