Mariah Carey pulled a Britney Spears move and demanded a higher salary than Jennifer Lopez for her stint on American Idol. Apparently JLo unknowingly set herself up as the standard when she signed on to American Idol two seasons ago. Britney Spears signed on to Simon Cowell’s X Factor and refused to commit if her salary wasn’t higher than JLo’s first year Idol salary.
Mariah, unquestionably a bigger diva than Britney, wanted to beat out JLo’s salary from both her seasons on Idol which were $12 and $15m respectively. According to reports, “Mariah is getting paid $18 million with a one-year option to do ‘Idol,’ making her the highest paid judge on any music competition show.”
“I am so excited to be joining Idol,” Mariah said Monday. “I wish I could have been there myself to tell you … (but) I think you know this all kind of just happened. I can’t wait to get started in a couple months.”
Excitement aside the real question remains – can Mariah Carey help revive American Idol? According to one report, Mariah’s “singing voice has always been considered a force of nature—though it hasn’t sounded the same in recent years—Mimi hasn’t been known for her intellect or sense of humor. Some observers feel the show has gotten soft since the departure of Simon Cowell, a brutally honest assessor of talent who could be counted on to keep it real with the contestants, insuring that the show wouldn’t be left with a contingent of finalists who didn’t have the profile to be pop stars. It should be noted that the show hasn’t had a breakout star since he left. Whatever kind of presence Carey turns out to be on the show, it’s fairly certain she won’t be another Cowell. She’s more likely to be in the Lopez mold: soft, warm, supportive, while adding considerable sex appeal, glamor and runway-show-worthy outfits.”
In a side to side comparison we believe Mariah has the most to offer Idol hopefuls – what do you think?
