Fox has finalized its panel of judges for next season of ‘American Idol’ but the network isn’t ready to reveal the contenders just yet.
After weeks of speculation about who would replace Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi, the show will announce the new judges Wednesday, September 22 at an event hosted by Ryan Seacrest in Los Angeles.
Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have just about been confirmed, thanks to various leaks, but the rest of the panel is up in the air. Original judge Randy Jackson is likely to stay on as the lone holdover from last season.
There are also rumors that Fox could break its silence with some form of teaser/announcement before the end of the weekend.
Shania Twain, Harry Connick Jr., Gene Simmons and Chris Isaak have also been rumored to be possibilities. Fox also had interest in Elton John, although they balked after they deemed his asking price to be too high.
Lopez reportedly took a $12 million deal to join, which is considerably less than Cowell’s former salary of $36 million, but well above the $3.5 million that Paula Abdul earned while on the show.
