Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj don’t deny fighting on “American Idol”
Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj — the newly hired judges for the singing competition show “American Idol” — refused to deny the reports on Monday that the two pop singers already began fighting just hours after “Super Bass” singer Nicki Minaj joined the Fox talent show.
“There’s been a feud in two days?” Mariah Carey reportedly said aloud during a break from “American Idol” auditions when she was asked about the Sunday afternoon beef with hip-hop star Nicki Minaj while taping for the singing competition for the first time in New York.
“A feud takes a little longer,” Mariah Carey added.
Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj reportedly mumbled something inaudible as her response to the query.
The feud allegedly erupted when Minaj started critiquing an “American Idol” contestant and Carey could not stop herself from interrupting, media outlet TMZ reports.
Each time Mariah Carey interrupted, Nicki Minaj reportedly fought back by loudly talking over Mariah. Then, Carey later took to Twitter to express her sentiments about her first “AI” taping. “several classic moments so far,” she wrote.
Along with “Butterfly” singer Mariah Carey, Minaj joins country star Keith Urban and longtime “American Idol” fixture, Randy Jackson on a panel of judges that could help give the show — now on its 12th season — a much needed jolt in the arm and broader appeal.
The new panel also comes at a critical moment for the once-dominant talent show which is said to be under siege from competitors, such as NBC’s “The Voice” and “The X Factor” — created by former “American Idol” judge, Simon Cowell.
While “AI” has never embraced hip-hop, 29-year-old Nicki Minaj has made multiple recent incursions into the world of pop.
“We’ve got a hip-hop superstar, we’ve got a vocal legend [Carey]— not just a singer, a vocal legend, and we’ve got a country legend,” Randy Jackson said. “It’s already a different kind of a show.”
Minaj arrives at “Idol” almost one month after the world-famous rapper was first rumored to have joined the talent show.
“I would love to be able to tell the contestants honestly and truthfully what they can really expect,” Minaj said of how she planned to judge contestants harshly.
“Sometimes you got to tell people, ‘hey, you really might not want to get in this.’” The pop star added, “there’s a reason why it’s called a business: because it takes a lot of tenacity, and all those other things that a lot of people don’t have.
Nicki Minaj then concluded, “I think that’s a part of what I bring… just being part of the now moment in pop culture and being able to share it with people who want to do it now. Having realized that sometimes, you’re going to get ripped apart.”