American Idol Considering Kanye West And Enrique Iglesias As Judges

Kanye West in "Runaway" music video
(Image credit: Roc-A-Fella Records)

American Idol is well in the throes of finding new judges to fill the vacancies left by Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. This time two very different musical artists could earn a position, but it seems the show may be looking to nab a judge for the right price. Rapper Kanye West and singer Enrique Iglesias may be taking time out of their busy schedules to dole out advice on the hit singing competition show, but we will see whether producers decide a bigger budget star or a more reliable schedule will prevail.

The only judge locked in for Season 12 is Mariah Carey, who reportedly cost a cool $18 million to entice to join the show. According to TMZ, West would potentially be pleased to fill a seat next to the diva, but he would require a similar multitude of funds. Since Idol’s ratings have been slowly sinking over the past season, paying another artist a ton of money to show up and judge may not be the best call for the seasoned Fox show.

TMZ also noted the man is only expressing “tentative” interest, so I’m not sure how seriously we should take his inclusion on the potential list. We should be a little more positive about Iglesias, however. According to People, his tour with Lopez will be finished before his American Idol duties would take precedence, and he’s been out of the mainstream limelight for long enough, he shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.

TMZ is currently considering Iglesias to be a frontrunner, but it is hard to tell who is serious about a position and who isn’t, with all the rumors running around. Yesterday, we reported Nicki Minaj has a good shot at nabbing a spot, but with the likes of Nick Jonas, Sean Diddy Combs, and even Kimberly Locke taking a gander, who really knows?