Randy Jackson’s time as an “American Idol” judge is up, according to a report by TMZ.
TMZ says that Jackson, the last of the original “Idol” judges standing, would continue with the show as a mentor, but would no longer be at the judges’ table to call people “dawg” and discuss how they can sing the phone book.
If true, that means that all three of last season’s judges would be gone, as Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez’s exits were announced earlier this summer. So far, the only official replacement judge is Mariah Carey, though the TMZ report says that Nicki Minaj’s deal is “99% done” to join the panel, despite the objections of Carey. The report also suggests that the show will return to a four-judge panel for the first time since Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara Dio Guardi left the show following the 2010 season.