Mariah Carey Confirmed As The New Judge of American Idol (Photo : Reuters)

Mariah Carey will be seen as a judge on American Idol next season, earning $18 million from the reality show.

After much speculation as to who would be filling the seat of Jennifer Lopez on the talent show American Idol, it has finally been confirmed that Mariah Carey will be the new judge on the show next season. According to reports on Us Weekly, the singer will earn $18 million from the show.

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced the new hire Monday at the semi-annual meeting of the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles. The announcement was quite dramatic as Reilly kept the reports in suspense while he dialed Carey's number. Carey, on speaker phone, said she's excited to join Fox's singing competition, adding, "I can't wait to get started in a couple months."

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Randy Jackson is the only judge left on the show who has been on American Idol from day 1. However, Jackson's position on the show is also not certain for season 12. "Randy was very instrumental in doing this deal," Reilly said.  "We have so many moving parts," Reilly said. "I don't want to talk about Randy or anyone on the bench."

"Although we finished the season at the top once again, although the show is as vital as ever - Phillip Phillips went to gold faster than any artist in the history of the show - our ratings were down," Reilly conceded.

"Not being the only game in town now, we need to keep things fresh," he added. "We had a dialogue with everybody on the bench. We came to a mutual decision already with Jennifer and Steven. We both decided it was a time for a change."

"Mariah hardly misses an episode of 'Idol,' " said a longtime Carey associate. "Even when she's on the road, she makes sure it's recorded so she can watch it later."