REVIVING AGING 'IDOL' FORMAT

Carey, Minaj and country singer Keith Urban joined "Idol" as judges in September for the upcoming 12th season after the departures of Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Related: Nicki Minaj blasts Steven Tyler

Carey, with more than 200 million album sales, and Minaj, one of the most exciting voices in rap, are expected to revive the contest, which last year lost its eight-year crown as the most-watched show on US television to "Saturday Night Football" on rival NBC.

Video of the pair arguing was leaked online from early auditions in last fall, and Minaj was reported to have said, "If I had a gun, I would shoot that bitch."

"American Idol" executive producer Trish Kinane said the new panel was chosen after fans said they wanted to see judges who were current and talented in their own right.

"They (fans) also wanted honesty, and we very much took that into consideration. They (the judges) are not shrinking violets. They say what they think, and we encourage that," Kinane said.

"American Idol", which has produced stars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, faces growing competition for TV audiences from a slew of rivals like "The Voice," "The X Factor," and "America's Got Talent". Last year, "Idol" attracted under 20 million viewers, down from the more than 30 million who watched on a regular basis five or six years ago.

Related: 'The Voice' sets easy target for rival

But Mike Darnell, reality programming chief for Fox, said the new panel had "re-invigorated the show".

"Yes, there are too many (talent) shows on the air and they are all taking each other down a bit. But this is still the king of the shows and the only one that makes stars," Darnell said.

Fox is a unit of News Corp.

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