Mariah Carey American Idol

Despite reports to the contrary yesterday, Nicki Minaj is NOT officially an American Idol judge.

According to a new source, show producers first must decide whether Randy Jackson will remain on the panel before they decide on just who sits alongside Mariah Carey.

And if it were up to Carey, that individual would most certainly not be Minaj.

TMZ says Carey hung up the phone in anger after learning of Nicki's possible hiring. She was reportedly angry over the inclusion of another female on the show, especially a female 13 years her junior.

While the Powers That Be deal with that issue, they are considering Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and/or Enrique Iglesias as either the fourth judge (if Randy stays) or the third judge (if he leaves and Minaj does, indeed, come on board).

There's also another topic of controversy about which producers are worrying: would a panel of Minaj, Jackson and Carey be a turnoff to middle America?

Hey, we aren't the ones asking. We're just relaying the show's concerns and questions.

[Photos: WENN.com]

Yup, she's in.

Following days of rumors and assumptions, Mariah Carey was officially announced as a judge on Season 12 of American Idol today.

“As a singer, songwriter and producer, it’s going to be fun and rewarding to help find new talent and give back with American Idol,” the number-one hit maker said in a statement, getting her personal PR machine rolling in the process:

“I’m currently in the studio working on my new album and its first single, ‘Triumphant,’ which will be out early next month. I can’t wait to channel my creative energy as a part of this show which is a massive global phenomenon.”

With Carey on board, attention will likely next turn to Randy Jackson. He serves as Mariah's manager and it would stand to reason their relationship means he would remain on as judge.

As for the third spot? We say Adam Lambert would strike a nice balance. But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

What do you think of Mariah? Will she make a solid American Idol judge?

Steven Tyler is out.

Jennifer Lopez says her time may have come.

And now an Us Weekly source confirms that American Idol may go all out with a judging panel shakeup, by moving Randy Jackson from the main table to some kind of mentoring role.

"[Show producers] think they need to freshen everything up now," the Idol insider tells the tabloid, adding that Mariah Carey is in "serious talks" to replace Jackson and the deal may even get done shortly.

As previously reported, other big names up for the panel include Katy Perry and Adam Lambert. But back to Mariah:

Do you want to see her as a judge?

Welcome, celeb gossip readers across the land, to The Hollywood Gossip Caption Contest, our fun weekly tradition. Let's take a look at who won this week!

We thought a photo American Idol, featuring Mariah Carey and Ryan Seacrest, was guaranteed to generate some good captions. And it certainly did!

This week's winner is Sally. Congrats! The winning reply appears below the picture. Scroll down to see it and the full list of captions readers sent in.

Thanks for playing and good luck this week!

Ryan: E=mc2 is right, Ryan Seacrest is scoring tonight.
Mariah: If he comes anywhere near my body, I will hunt him down.