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Mariah Carey joins American Idol Season 12 judging panel

American Idol confirms that Mariah Carey will be joining the judging panel for Season 12. Here are 5 good reasons why Adam Lambert should follow.

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Lionel Cironneau /AP
In this June 2, 2012 file photo, American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress, Mariah Carey performs during a concert in Monaco. It was announced on Monday, July 23, 2012 that Mariah Carey will be a new judge on FOX's "American Idol" TV show.
  • By Jodi Bradbury Contributor

It's official. After weeks of speculation and rumors, American Idol and Mariah Carey have confirmed that the diva would be bringing her brand of glitter to the Season 12 judging panel. Who will be joining Mimi on the panel is yet to be determined but as reported here last week, a deal with Ms. Carey could result in another season for veteran judge Randy Jackson, who has worked with Carey extensively over the years. And just as a deal with Carey may mean another year for Jackson, it pretty much guarantees an end to Jennifer Lopez's reign on American Idol. Shortly after Steven Tyler announced his departure, Lopez indicated that she was 99 percent sure she would also be exiting.

Apparently, 1 percent of her was holding out for another increase in her salary.

But since a deal with Carey surely does not come cheap (hubby Nick Canon previously announced that Idol simply could not afford to hire his wife), producers have no need to bring on another diva with outrageous salary demands, which means that after two lackluster seasons, Lopez has finally become redundant. So who will fill the remaining mystery seat? 

Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert's name has been mentioned frequently over the past few weeks and, with the addition of Mariah Carey, Lambert becomes an even more attractive candidate for the final spot. Here are five reasons why Adam Lambert could prove to be the perfect addition:

  1. Confidence: Having appeared with the band KISS and members of Queen during his season, Lambert has already proven that he has the confidence to hold his own among other famous celebrities.
  2. Celebrity: While history has definitely taught us that stars do not necessarily make good judges, it seems that producers are no longer willing to take a chance on non-celebrities like they did with Simon Cowell and Jackson in Season 1. Lambert represents a nice middle-of-the-road choice; not quite a superstar, but definitely not an unknown. And he was also one of Idol's more controversial contestants.
  3. Economy: Lambert, though a fledgling star, would certainly represent a more economical choice than that of Tyler, Lopez and Carey.
  4. Branding: What better way to promote the Idol machine than by hiring past contestants?
  5. Chemistry: Since Carey and Jackson are already as thick as thieves, the third judge will need to be someone who can hold their own but not so well that they steal the spotlight from Carey. Lambert, as a past member of the dog house, already has an established rapport with Jackson and since he's not famous enough to threaten Carey, they could certainly bond over their shared sense of bold style and drama.

So there you have it, five good reasons why Lambert would be a great choice as an Idol judge. But since my critiques of Lopez and Tyler have had little impact over the last two seasons, I'm starting to suspect that the producers may not be consulting this blog for advice.

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