Mariah Carey Officially Named New 'American Idol' Judge

Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly also

confirms that Jennifer Lopez will not be back.

Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly opened

his executive session at the Television Critics

Association summer press tour with some news:

Mariah Carey will be on the American Idol judges

panel next season.

"We do in fact have one judge whose deal closed

very, very recently," said Reilly. "I think it's the

biggest recording artist that any of these shows

have ever had. It’s an artist that many contestenats

have tried to emulate, have tried to sing [her]

songs, have tried to hit the notes. Because [the

deal] really only concluded hours ago, our new

judge couldn’t be with us."

Reilly phoned Carey from his seat on the dais at the

Beverly Hilton Hotel.

"I am so excited to be joining Idol," said Carey. "I

wish I could be there today. I can't wait too get

started. "

Reilly also confirmed that Jennifer Lopez is indeed

exiting.

"I think I can confirm that it's 100 percent that

Jennifer will not be back with the show," he said,

adding that the process of letting Tyler and Lopez

go was "transparent" and "mutual."

"We had a great experience with both of them;

creatively we were all happy. But we decided it was

time for a change."

The network is likely to settle on more cast

additions in the next couple weeks. "It's just a

matter of picking the right one [and finding the]

right chemistry."

Reilly would not comment on whether Randy

Jackson will return. He emphasized Jackson's close

working relationship with Carey, whom Jackson co-

manages. He also noted that Jackson (who has

been on the judging panel since season one) was

instrumental in Carey's deal.

And Reilly admitted that Idol's double-digit ratings

declines last season -- the show's 11th -- and the

glut of singing competition shows -- including the

network's X Factor and NBC's The Voice -- have

spurred the Idol's revamp.

"Although the show is as vital as ever, our ratings

were down," conceded Reilly. "Not being the only

game in town now, we needed to keep things

fresh."

Reilly also added that Simon Cowell is close to

settling on a host for X Factor. Cowell earlier this

year fired Steve Jones as well as judges Paula

Abdul and Nicole Sherzinger, who will be replaced

by Britney Spears and Demi Lovato.

Following the session, Reilly told reporters that

Carey wasn't necessarily a "replacement" for

Lopez. "It was never the goal to replace her

[Jennifer Lopez]. I think they're very different

personalities. Once Jennifer declared that she in

fact was comfortable moving on, we made the

decision: You can call it a replacement, we never

went in to say, 'Who's going to be the Jennifer

replacement,' " he said, adding that there was "a

scenario where maybe [Lopez] would have stayed."

Additional judges are expected to be announced

shortly, with Reilly noting that in a nod to the first

season of Idol, they could be fresh faces. "There are

some 'nobodys' in the mix, there are some people

who are not a household name," he said, citing

Jimmy Iovine who wasn't a household name when

he boarded the series.

As for whether Carey's new Idol deal would

eliminate her appearing on X Factor, Reilly said that

decision ultimately was in Cowell's hands. "There's

no legal reason why," he said of a potential

mentorship on X Factor, something Cowell has

experessed a strong desire to see. "Whether that

would muddy the waters, I don't know. Simon has a

relationship with her as well. I think that's really up

to him if he thinks that's fun, great. But he is not

struggling to get any names involved."