When I watched American Idol early this season I was impressed with how “nice” Mariah Carey was at that point, especially compared to Nicki Minaj, who was a real bitch, and not the funny awesome kind like us. I recently caught an episode from two weeks ago, (when Candice killed it singing the Cure’s Lovesong) and Mariah was so self-centered that her advice rang hollow. Nicki wasn’t bad, and although she played with her hair constantly she did seem more connected to the contestants and she gave good feedback. I put a call out on Facebook for opinions on the show, as my mom is the only one I know who watches it regularly. The fact that only one person answered out of 900-something people goes to show that not many people are watching it.

My one Facebook buddy who got back to me, Gigi of Gigi Eats Celebrities, says that she went to a taping last week and that “Mariah didn’t stand up once – when everyone else did. I really think those two think the show is a complete joke. Perhaps they know something we don’t- that AI is not being renewed? Or that they are both def not coming back.”

I think Gigi is right, because Mariah Carey is doing so poorly that AI honchos tried to replace her midseason with ex judge Jennifer Lopez! Mariah’s legal team shot that down really quick. It’s not just about Mariah’s lackluster personality, they need to shake things up because the show is tanking in the ratings.

With ratings in a steep slide, American Idol producers and Fox executives in recent weeks hatched a dramatic plan to jumpstart the show: replace judge Mariah Carey with Jennifer Lopez, according to knowledgeable sources.

These sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Carey, who was touted as the big new addition to the judge’s panel this year, responded with a threat of litigation. With that, the plan was dropped, though Idol’s producers still are negotiating with Lopez, who served as a popular judge during the past two seasons, to appear on the show’s finale in May. And insiders say a search already has begun to replace Carey, most likely Nicki Minaj and possibly the entire judge’s panel for next season.

“This is just another ridiculous Idol judge rumor, likely started by talks of Jennifer performing on the finale,” a Fox spokeswoman tells THR in a statement. Producer Fremantle NorthAmerica declines to comment. A rep for Carey denies these allegations. Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe tells THR: “I have not been included in any conversation regarding replacing Mariah with Jen this season.”

American Idol kicked off its 12th season on solid enough footing. Earning a 6.0 rating with adults 18-49 and 17.9 million total viewers in its January return, the 17 percent dip was less precipitous than some of the bigger drops in recent years. But the months since have been less kind. The Wednesday performance show is currently averaging a 4.3 rating with adults 18-49, its worst performance since its inaugural season in 2001. And it is dropping nearly every week.

Even worse for Idol, the robust reboot of NBC’s The Voice with Shakira and Usher recently has seen ratings climb to a 5.2 rating in the demo during the same week Idol bottomed out with a series low 2.8 rating. Adding insult to injury, Idol made headlines last week when preliminary numbers showed its total viewers for a results show was beaten by a repeat of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Maybe Idol isn’t doing so well because it’s predictable. They have the same format as they’ve had for years and it seems like every episode lasts forever. They drag things out to a ridiculous degree. They should think about mixing up the show, not the judges necessarily. It’s probably not a bad idea to replace Mariah and Nicki though. THR goes on to report that producers are currently looking for judges for next season and they may go with an industry type who isn’t necessarily famous. We saw how that worked out with Kara Dioguardi.

J.Lo is shown on 3-23. Mariah is shown on 3-7. Credit: WENN.com

The new season of American Idol premieres tonight. I’m reminded by the huge ads on People’s website. As part of the lead-up, we’ve heard several interviews with Mariah Carey, who has of course been asked repeatedly about her caught-on-tape feud with co-judge Nicki Minaj. Mariah has responded to those questions just as we’ve come to expect from her: she’s said things like “It’s a distraction from the show,” she claimed that it was “one-sided” and explained her coping method: “In that moment I don’t hear you; I don’t see you; you don’t exist to me at this moment — that’s what it is.” So it’s nice to hear Nicki, who seems to have instigated the argument, admit that she’s a diva and that she butted heads with Mariah. In an interview on Ellen yesterday, Nicki explained that her feelings were hurt by some rumors that Mariah didn’t like her, so she “overcompensated by being crazy.”

On why she bitched out Mariah
If you know someone maybe doesn’t like you. It’s kind of like, now you’re gonna like really go in and show hey, because it’s like a defense mechanism. You know what I mean? It’s really that. You’re feelings are hurt and you can’t believe it so you kind of just compensate with being crazy.

On if she’s still mad at Mariah
We’re fine. I cannot hold a grudge against Mariah Carey. What people don’t understand is that I’ve looked up to her for so many years. Since she came out, “Vision of Love” all that. Me and my Mother would sing her songs like all day and all night. So I don’t know if she’s gotten over it but I have. I mean, I’m over there cracking up laughing, having fun and if she’s still holding a grudge. I don’t know. Like I don’t care.

On if she’s looking forward to live shows
I’m not looking forward to live shows. I cannot trust myself. ust like if there’s a slick comment being made… I just want it to go well. It’s about the contestants. We have a lot of great talent and I don’t want anyone on the panel to say something to crazy because then I don’t want to look like a crazy psycho again. I am not really a crazy psycho you guys, Seriously, please, no. I swear…No, I am serious. I am really not…

[From The Ellen show received via email]

This interview reminded me that Ellen was a judge on American Idol for a season! I almost forgot all about that. It’s not like Ellen was talking about it in the clip I saw, but she does have an insider’s perspective on Idol.

As for Nicki and Mariah, it seemed clear Nicki’s comments that things are still very strained with Mariah. They’ve reached a tentative truce, but there’s the potential for some arguments and their beef does seem genuine. It’s not a put on for ratings. (Which the show needs relative to its prior success.) Still, Fox is surely counting on people tuning in to see Mariah and Nicki give each other the evil eye and bitch each other out. This makes me wonder how they’re going to hype the argument when it comes time to air. I’ll DVR this show and fast forward through the boring parts. Chances are low I’ll keep up with it all season though since it’s very hard for me to make more than a one-hour a week commitment to a show. (Why do they drag it out to two hours twice a week? It feels interminable at times.)

Here’s a clip of Nicki on Ellen:

Nicki Minaj is shown at the American Idol season premiere on 1-12-13 and on New Year’s Eve. (curly wig) Mariah Carey is shown on 1-4-13 credit: WENN.com.

Here’s a funny reminder that Mariah Carey isn’t just a diva when it comes to her job – she’s committed to being a diva in all aspects of her life, including her diet. Star Magazine (I know) reports that Mariah stays slim by eating only foods that are purple three days a week. (Do Nerds, Skittles and Laffy Taffy count? Nick and Mariah have an entire candy room in their house that’s set up like a store at the mall. I’m not kidding, Nick gave PopSugar a tour.)

Mariah Carey may love wearing the color pink, but she’s eating only purple! The diva has thrown herself into a new diet: three days a week, she eats purple foods like plums, grapes and eggplants – and is already loving the results. “They say a plum a day keeps the face-lifts away, and Mariah’s loving her sexy new shape,” and insider tells Star. Mariah herself admits that she needs to get creative with slimming down. “Since having the babies, I realize that 90 percent of losing weight is my diet.” Do purple skittles count?

[From Star Magazine, print edition, January 21, 2013]

Years ago I saw a nutritionist on Oprah explaining that purple foods have the most phytonutrients or something, and that when you shop you should strive to get colorful fruits and vegetables for that reason. It sounds like a quack way to diet, but if it works for Mariah that’s all that matters I guess. She’s probably getting enough nutrients and protein if she only eats that way three days a week.

Mariah is also a strong proponent of the Photoshop diet, as evidenced by this latest bikini photo she’s released to the press. We posted this yesterday, but let’s revisit it.

These photos are of Mariah performing at the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center in London on 11-27-12, credit: Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

The new season of American Idol, with a new panel of judges (except Randy, dawg is still there!) comes out next week. As part of the ramp-up to that, we have to endure interviews with Mariah Carey discussing her feud with Nicki Minaj. It sounds like things are far from settled between these two, given what Mariah told ET Online and Barbara Walters recently. First, to recap, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj had an argument during their first week together on the judging panel, back in October. There was video (now unavailable) of Nicki bitching out Mariah for being a diva, basically, while Mariah groaned and tried to ignore her. Some accused American Idol of faking the argument for hype, but it seemed very real. Then Barbara Walters claimed, on The View, that she had spoken to Mariah and that Mariah told her that Nicki issued a half-assed (my words) death threat to Mariah by saying “If I had a gun I would shoot her.” Idol producers denied this took place, and Nicki went off about it on Twitter. Mariah allegedly hired extra security at the time, because she was so threatened by Nicki’s big mouth.

Well in this new ET interview, Mariah confirms that she hired extra security, and she sort-of confirmed her beef with Nicki, without directly addressing it. Mariah basically said that anyone who dares question her gets ignored, which sounds just about right. Mariah also did an interview with Barbara Walters, which aired on Nightline last night. AND there are new interviews with Nicki and Mariah from a press conference for the show. I’m putting those quotes from the different interviews together below, to give a better idea of how these two are handling the feud. Nicki is trying to take the high road in interviews, but she’s still bitching and moaning on Twitter.

Mariah on how she deals with “messy moments” on Idol
“Here’s what I meant by messy moments: You just have to adapt. And I think my thing is I have to be myself, and if that means that in that moment I don’t hear you; I don’t see you; you don’t exist to me at this moment — that’s what it is.” – [ET]

Nicki plays nice
“I actually say nice things about Mariah all the time. She is one who really has shaped a generation of singers. … They aspire to be a Mariah Carey in terms of their talent and career and to be given a chance to sing in front of her.” – [via People]

Mariah on hiring more security
“It felt like an unsafe work environment. Anytime anybody’s reeling threats at somebody, it’s not appropriate. I’ve got two babies, I’m not gonna take any chances. So, yeah, I did hire more security. I just felt it was the appropriate thing to do,” Carey tells Walters. Sitting there on the road with two babies, I’m not going to take any chances.” – [Nightline via Huffpo]

Mariah on her feud with Nicki
But when it came to talking about where things currently stand on a personal level for the two stars, Carey played a bit coy.

“The whole thing is convoluted,” she said. “It’s a distraction from the show. It’s a distraction to the contestants. It should be about the contestants.”

Carey, who added that “time heals all wounds,” went on to tell Minaj that their dramatic saga “was sort of one-sided” – a claim Minaj denied on the spot.

But remaining upbeat, Carey replied with, “At least we can agree on my shoes.” – [via People]

Mariah on her twins
Regarding Monroe, Carey says, “I call her Miss Monroe, and that kind of dictated her personality. “She’s a total diva. She’s into jewelry. She’s fascinated by jewelry.”

Moroccan, who goes by the nickname “Roc,” is “more chill.”

“He’s my pal,” Carey says. “He’ll just watch movies with me. We’ve watched ‘Shrek’ I don’t know how many times. We watch movies all the time together, relax.” – [Nightline via Huffpo]

[From Huffington Post, People and ET Online]

Oh Mariah, she’s never capable of not being a diva and that’s got to annoy Nicki Minaj to no end. They seem to have reached a tentative truce for now though, and I’m sure producers don’t mind how much press their feud continues to get. As far as ratings,o I bet that Idol will do just about as well as it did in the past couple of years. It gets a ton of viewers compared to other shows, but I think its days of astronomical ratings are over.

Also, Mariah recently posed in a bikini in Australia. I think she gave this photo to the press to use, but it’s hard to tell where it originated. She looks great, but I’m just going to come out and say that I think this was photoshopped. I’m sure she looks fab without any digital manipulation, but I see some jagged lines along the left side of her torso. Enlarge the photo below and see what I mean.

Here’s Mariah on ET Online:

And clips from her on Nightline, from E! News:

header image from 1-4-13, credit: WENN.com. Mariah Carey is also shown in Aspen on 12-24-12, credit: Pedro Andrade/KVS, PacificCoastNews.com, and outside Idol on 12-13-12, credit: Cousart-Rayne/JFXimages/WENN.com. Nicki Minaj is shown on 1-8-13, credit KM/FameFlynet Pictures

Just yesterday, Nick Cannon was discussing parenting styles and how different he and Mariah Carey are with their twins. When discussing diaper duty, Nick admitted that he changes more diapers than Mariah and said, “I mean we all do it but, for some reason, I get that duty a little bit more. I am not scared of it. I go in, I put the gloves on. Real men change diapers!” Then he called Mariah a diva. Because of course. I bring this up because Star Magazine has a crazy story about what Mariah considers suitable lotion for her babies’ butts. I shall not hold you in suspense: Star claims Mariah is smearing thousands of dollars’ worth of La Mer on her babies’ behinds. For the love of…

Celebs don’t hesitate to spoil their offspring, but Mariah Carey’s twins, Monroe and Moroccan, have a beauty regime that even A-list adults would balk at! Not only do Mariah and hubby Nick Cannon drop big bucks on designer baby shoes, imported Italian crib linens and bubble baths using only bottled water, but the ultrarich parents use pricey La Mer moisturizer as diaper cream!

It’s $150 for one once, but Mariah spends $1900 per massive 16-ounce jar and only uses it on her 18-month-old twins’ delicate fannies.

“Nothing is too good for Mariah’s babies,” a friend says. “She probably spends more than $6000 a month on the lotion alone so the kids don’t have diaper rash.”

But Mariah is still practical about waste: “She uses what’s left over on her own face – why not?”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

I’ve wanted to get a jar of La Mer for a while. But at the end of the day, I am a cheap bitch and I’m fine with my Oil of Olay. On one side, I kind of see Mariah’s thought process here – she can afford it and why not? What could it hurt? The babies probably aren’t allergic to anything in La Mer (I think they would have had an allergic reaction by now if they were), and La Mer is THE BEST. On the other side… they’re just babies. What could it hurt to actually use baby products on Roc and Roe?

Photos courtesy of Dem Babies.

Will you think less of me if I admit some dark, dirty secret? Here’s my secret: I’ve never paid for a massage. I’ve gotten amateur massages, of course, and some of them were very good. But as I get older, I swear, I really don’t like when strangers touch me (as opposed to my youth, when I let strangers touch me all the time… which I meant as a joke, but came across as creepy). So, I’ve never really had the need to buy myself a massage or anything. I have some back pain from my big boobs, but I’m still not going to pay for a massage. What’s my point? It’s completely bizarre to me that someone would pay for an eight-hour massage. But that’s exactly what Mariah Carey did.

Ambien? A white-noise machine? That’s kid stuff for a sleepy Mariah Carey.

The American Idol diva arranged an eight-hour rub-down while she got shut-eye at her L.A. mansion September 29.

“The masseuse made $1,500,” a source tells Us Weekly. On top of that, Carey had a seriously kooky request.

“She insisted [Sacha Baron Cohen's] Bruno play on repeat,” the insider adds. “It looped the entire time!”

Carey’s elaborate massage may have been necessary in order to relieve the tension she’s built up dealing with Nicki Minaj on the set of American Idol. The two women are embroiled in an ongoing feud after Minaj launched into a profane taped rant against the Grammy winner during auditions in Charlotte, N.C.

Still, an insider tells Us show execs “love the drama. They feel like they’ve struck gold.”

[From Us Weekly]

For the love of God! Who wants to be rubbed WHILE you sleep? You should want to be awake to enjoy it. And if you’re asleep, who’s to say that the masseur didn’t just stop when he heard Mariah snoring? And notice that they just it’s one masseur – wouldn’t they have hand cramps after a few hours? Yeah. Mariah didn’t get an eight-hour massage. She PAID for an eight-hour massage. As for the Bruno thing… that’s just weird. I do love that Mariah has a new excuse for acting like a temperamental diva, though: it’s all Minaj’s fault! Everything!

Oh, and Star Mag’s cover story this week is “Hollywood Housekeepers Tell All” or something. Jezebel says that there’s something devoted to Mariah’s insanity: “Mariah Carey’s ‘glam squad’ once dressed her and did her makeup while she was passed out drunk on the bathroom floor.” Are we sure they’re not talking about Christina Aguilera? Because that sounds so much more like Aguilera.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

The epic Nicki Minaj Mariah Carey catfight on Idol rages on. We’ve heard that these two have reached a tentative truce, but it’s looking more like Idol isn’t big enough for both of their throbbing egos. We have Mariah with her sickly sweet butterfly-filled narcissism and Nicki with her faux edgy, hair trigger conceit. Yesterday afternoon Kaiser pointed me to Nicki Minaj’s Twitter account, noting that Nicki was going off about something. Nicki was mad over something Barbara Walters said on The View about Nicki’s fight with Mariah, and now I know what it was. Barbara claims to have spoken to Mariah, who confirmed that Nicki did issue a death threat against Mariah by saying “If I had a gun I would shoot her.” (Which Nicki denied to Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe.) As a result, Mariah was said to be so concerned for her safety that she hired additional security. Give me a break. This of course led Nicki Minaj to release her outrage on Twitter. Here’s more:

Veteran journalist Barbara Walters said on “The View” that Carey shared the new details about the feud that has roiled — or energized, depending on your perspective — the set of the creaky reality show, now in its 12th year.

“She said that when Nicki walked off the set, multiple people heard Nicki say, ‘If I had a gun I would shoot the bitch,’” Walters relayed.

Several “Idol” staffers, including hairdressers and producers, heard it, too, Carey told Walters.

“She said she’s very concerned,” Walters continued. “She is with her twins. She doesn’t feel that anything would happen, but Nicki is unpredictable, and Mariah says she can’t take a chance and she has hired extra security.”

Carey added that Minaj has not apologized for the Tuesday blowup, which centered on a dispute between the two show judges over a contestant’s talent.
But Minaj did tell Carey, “I love you, but we might fight again,” Walters said.

Fox had no comment Thursday. Earlier in the week, an “Idol” producer denied that there had been a death threat.

Minaj’s camp did not respond to requests for comment after Walters aired Carey’s grievances, but she did fire back on Twitter Thursday, suggesting Walters is no impartial referee in the Battle of the Pop Divas. “Barbara walters didn’t reach out from our team,” Minaj tweeted. “I guess we’re too dangerous.”

She added, “I don’t call tmz n Barbara Walters cuz I stand on my own two feet,” she added, referring to a gossip website. “Never needed an army. God is good. Insecurity is as cruel as the grave.”

Later, she ramped up her online assault on Carey. “I guess it hurts 2 have the producers tell u to ur face that nicki is the best judge we’ve had since simon,” Minaj added. “Awww, poor u. Keep them lies cmn.”

[From The NY Daily News]

Other tweets from Nicki on this include “I thought we resolved it yesterday but I see u want ur pity party to continue.” and “All I do is compliment u. That’s not enuff? Ur a legend, cheer up. U don’t have to run down ur resume or feel intimidated. Shady McGrady…” She eventually seems to have backed down and apologized, tweeting “Oop sorry brat. Sh*t is real in the field. Pls accept my apology.” It gives me a headache to try and figure out her tweets, but they seem to be directed at Mariah. DListed has more of them in order if you’re interested.

Nicki never should have said that about shooting Mariah, and I buy that she said it out of frustration, but please, Mariah can’t have taken her seriously. This is Mariah trying to pull rank and get Nicki kicked off the judging panel before the season is really underway. I wouldn’t mind if that happened at all. This feud is way out of hand. If this is how these two handle just a couple days of working together, it’s only going to get worse.

MTV had this brief video from Idol in which Mariah seems to be addressing the feud, but she doesn’t really say much. She is so damn haughty about everything, it’s like her only setting:

Mariah also instagrammed this photo from on set. She hasn’t said a word about it on Twitter. It looks like Keith Urban is the buffer between Mariah and Nicki. He’s addressed this feud by basically saying he loves it.

Yesterday we saw a caught-on-tape feud between new American Idol judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey while they were scouting talent in North Carolina. Nicki really lit into Mariah, saying “I’m not f**kin’ putting up with her f**king highness over there… I’m not gonna sit here every f**king minute to have you come down and harass me every minute everyday.” It sounded like Nicki was defending herself against something that Mariah said. TMZ had a bunch of follow-up stories for their exclusive, claiming that Mariah called Nicki a “bitch” several times, and that Mariah also bragged about herself and her accomplishments so much that it set Nicki off. I believe it, as Mariah is so full of herself. I remember Mariah’s insane HSN appearance, all she did was talk about herself.

In other stories about this mess, we heard that Nicki allegedly threatened Mariah’s life by saying “If I had a gun I would shoot her.” Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe denies that ever happened, but admitted he asked Nicki personally if she said it, which she denied. Of course she did. It was allegedly more peaceful yesterday on the Idol set, with Mariah and Nicki getting along – for now.

As for the suspicions that this whole thing was staged for publicity, TMZ is sticking with their story that it wasn’t, but adds that Nicki feels that producers are trying to get her riled up, and are encouraging Mariah’s bad behavior. Mariah’s husband, Nick Cannon, sort-of confirms that producers are in on it. He was interviewed by Access Hollywood and he placed the blame on their shoulders. Here’s some of what he said, and you can watch the video at this link:

“I’m kind of disappointed in Fox and everything, because they’re taking away from the quality of Idol.

My wife is the strongest and the classiest woman I’ve ever met. You watch the video and she maintains her composure… I don’t think she’s moved by the theatrics and the pageantry of it all. She signed up for a job to help young people with their dreams.

This is like a sidebar. I hope that’s not what this show becomes about – the catfights.

Honestly I believe the show is solely about a singing competition, that’s why America loves these shows… to make it about something that it is not, kind of shows that the producers and the network are losing their foot[ing].

[From video on Access Hollywood]

Around 4:30 into the video (link here) they do a reenactment of the Nicki Mariah fight, with each of them reading lines, and it’s funny as hell. Nick concluded afterwards that “anyone can see that my wife is strong, classy and she maintains her strength.”

You can just shoot me now because I was really impressed with Nick Cannon. He loves the hell out of Mariah and he will go to bat for his self-absorbed wife any day of the week. I’m buying this side of the story, that producers are loving this feud and encouraging it even if they didn’t directly stage it. This is a hell of a lot of buzz for this show, and people will watch it just to see these divas give each other the side eye. A big fight like this may be inconvenient, but they’re surely loving the press.

These photos are from September (header) and May (directly above). Credit: WENN.com