New Report: Will Mariah Carey Get $17 Million to Judge on American Idol?

Think Britney Spears' $15 million paycheck for signing on as a judge on The X-Factor was impressive? A new diva might be set to overtake her, if rumors are true: MTV News claims that Mariah Carey is now finalizing her contract to sign on for Season 12 of American Idol.

And the amount she'll be commanding? $17 million. No big deal. 

Things have been looking shaky for Idol with both Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez announcing their respective departures from the show, which has seen a number of new names being lobbied, but according to these reports, Mariah is now far along in the process. This contrasts with her husband Nick Cannon's earlier claim that producers of the show "couldn't afford Mariah" — looks like they managed to pony up!

But as we've learned many times, with judges' casting, it's not official until it's official. Still, we can't wait to see who ends up at that table.

Source: MTV News