MARIAH ‘The Diva’ Carey is joining American Idol y’all (as a judge, not a contestant … duh!) and that means only one thing; American Idol is getting revamped. Again.

Ugh, seriously? How are we supposed to keep up with the singing competition if they keep changing the format and line up of judges everytime the ratings fall? We’re tired already.

A couple of weeks ago, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler announced that they are leaving the show (although there are rumours swirling that the duo was actually fired, but nevermind), which they had been on for two seasons.

Tyler and Lopez were originally roped in to replace the judges who had come and left the show throughout its 11 seasons. They were … let’s see, Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi, Ellen DeGeneres and Simon Cowell.

Yes, Randy ‘Yo Dawg’ Jackson is unfortunately still one of the judges on the show and there is yet to be news on his departure from the once hit talent competition. Or that about Ryan Seacrest who has been on the show since its very first episode. Honestly, he’s getting pretty boring.

The show got one of its major revamp in its 10th season, when the producers were alarmed by the falling ratings and the general lack of interest from viewers.

That’s when they brought in Tyler and Lopez (who was paid US$12mil (RM38mil) for her gig) and truth be told, they were quite … now, what’s the word … erm, entertaining.

Lopez definitely took her job seriously and did give many good pointers to the hopeful contestants, unlike Abdul, thankfully.
Who can forget Abdul and her tendency to clap like a seal every time she enjoyed a contestant’s performance?

Lopez was funny, intelligent and more importantly hot (that Latina sure did know how to raise temperature with her skintight outfits) and even debuted her On The Floor single featuring Pitbull on that show.

Tyler, though incoherent most of the time, provided comic relief and was somewhat lovable during his stint as a judge on that show. He too debuted Aerosmith’s Legendary Child during one of the show’s finales.

(Obviously the show is also the perfect ground for almost has-been stars to prove that they’re still worth their salt.)
So when news broke that two of them were leaving American Idol (and Jackson wasn’t following suit), people started wondering who would be big enough a star to fill their (Lopez’ especially) shoes.

Well, the producers found Mariah Carey – only one of the biggest female pop stars of all time – to take up the mantle, and while the fans are not sure how she would fare, most celebrities are already saying that she’s the right choice.

The singer addressed the news with a tweet saying, “It’s gonna be so much fun working on @AmericanIdol. As a singer-songwriter, I’m excited to help find and nurture new talent.” Yes, that and also the US$18mil (RM57mil) she’s reportedly getting for a one-year contract on the show.

“Welcome to the fam @MariahCarey!!,” tweeted Seacrest to the singer before adding, “When u and @nickcannon need a date night, I’m happy to strap on the double baby bjorn.” (Yeah, like as if she would trust her babies with Seacrest. He’s the reason why the world is stuck with the Kardashians remember?). Idol winner Jordin Sparks also tweeted her excitement over the news saying, “I can’t wait to watch @mariahcarey as a judge!! I LOVE her!!”

Even former judge Cowell had good things to say about the newbie judge. MTV News reported that during an interview, Cowell said that it was nice to hear that Carey was joining the show.

“I’m happy for her. I like Mariah. I think she’s going to find it difficult to say no … she’s sweet,” he said.

But the American Idol fans don’t know what to expect from the singer as she has never even appeared on the show as a mentor. Is she funny? Could she dole out sound advice? Will she have major meltdowns on the show? The answer is probably ‘Yes’ to all three.

Oh well, come January 2013, the world will find out if Carey is indeed a sweetheart or just another sour puss like Cowell himself. Just brace yourselves for the inevitable drama, though.

Sharm says: How much do you wanna bet that Mariah will debut a song on that American Idol?