The 'Art of Letting Go' singer says she 'hated' working on the reality singing competition show, comparing it to working with Satan.
- Nov 14, 2013
AceShowbiz - Mariah Carey apparently had a bad experience working on "American Idol". During a radio interview with Hot 97's Angie Martinez, the R&B diva was asked about her one-season gig on the singing competition.
"Honestly, I hated it," she admitted. "I thought it was going to be a three-person panel. They gave me a nice dangling monetary moment, and I was just like, 'Okay. Randy Jackson will be there; I've known him forever. He used to play bass for me. Like, this isn't a big deal. This will be nothing.' But it wasn't that. It was like going to work every day in hell with Satan."
It wasn't clear whom Carey compared with Satan, but she and fellow former judge Nicki Minaj were in a highly-publicized feud as soon as they began taping the auditions. She later downplayed her initial comments, saying, "Naw, I'm just playing. It didn't affect me that much."
The "My All" hitmaker, however, admitted that she "was disappointed." She explained, "I loved the contestants. And some of them were so good, and also really good people. It was disappointing when they would - for political reasons - not put [contestants] through. And I'm like, I'm not going to sit here and do this. I would prefer to put this person in a studio and record a record with them."
Carey and Minaj eventually quit the show after only one season. For the upcoming 13th installment, Keith Urban returns as a judge, joined by Jennifer Lopez, who also returns after being absent last season, and newly-added Harry Connick Jr.. Randy Jackson, meanwhile, takes a new role as a mentor.
