Falling ‘Idol’ Fuels New Mariah-Minaj Feud
Maybe a diva fight will get viewers to watch American Idol. Judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj were at it again last night on the same night Idol had its worst Wednesday rating ever. The judges got into a war of words that spilled onto Twitter today: Carey tweaked Minaj about her not having a “Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song.” Then the rapper wrote online: “What u SHOULD be doing (wit your messy ass) is asking why a woman SO successful at her age, is still so INSECURE, and bitter”. The two are actually tied with 44 Hot 100 hits, but Minaj has never had a tune make it higher than No. 3 on the charts. Minaj also tweaked Carey about reports that Jennifer Lopez may be returning to the show. “All dem #1s but JLo phone ringin? LOL. I guess having a personality, being a secure woman, and giving genuine critique still trumps that.” Carey has not responded to Minaj’s latest taunts, and Minaj seems to have dropped it for now. But like the dust-up between the testy two late last year the new brouhaha brought Idol some badly needed attention. Will sparks between the two judges who so obviously dislike each other translate into much needed numbers tonight?
Related: Judging The Judges: Minaj & Carey – ‘American Idol’
Wednesday’s low came less than a week after Idol hit an all-time regularly scheduled show low in the 12 seasons of the Fox series. Wednesday also saw the once-dominant competition show beaten for the third time in a row in adults 18-49 by a new episode of ABC’s Modern Family. If that doesn’t hurt enough, on April 18, Idol was bested in total viewers for the first time by a repeat of The Big Bang Theory. Sure, Idol did fine up against a special Wednesday episode of The Voice last night. But that was a season-to-date recap. Next week, Idol will find itself against a new and live Voice.
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