It’s official! Your new ‘American Idol’ judges are legendary R&B diva Mariah Carey, her manager and original judge Randy Jackson, Hip Pop rapper Nicki Minaj and Grammy Award winning country star Keith Urban! Carey was reportedly paid a record-breaking $18 million, Minaj received a hefty $8 million and Urban snagged a cool $4 million. Auditions kicked off today in New York City, and here is the first photo of the new panel!

This really is an interesting mix, as all three artists cater to different genres of music. I was not expecting Randy to be back however. I guess they wanted to keep some original connection to the panel although they still have Ryan Seacrest as the host. After months of rumours, it serves as a relief that the speculation is finally over. I’m interested to see how former musical collaborators Carey and Minaj will get along, because there is just too much diva and rainbow personality on that panel. It’s going to be a blast! Other audition cities include Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, San Antonio, Baton Rouge and Oklahoma City. The show will be back on Stateside screens in January.