The past few years have been quite rough for the “American Idol” judges. After 12 seasons, viewers have seen several judges replace the originals, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.  The new judges included Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez, Kara DioGuardi and Steven Tyler. This year, the judges have changed yet again adding Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj to the judging panel.

Each judge comes from a different genre of music, which enables them to help the contestants and give them advice on how to improve their voices. Keith Urban is a country singer, Mariah Carey, a pop singer, Nicki Minaj, a hip-hop singer and Randy Jackson, a musician and record producer. The new judges are believed to add a lot of perspective and more opinion to the show.

“I watch ‘American Idol’ every season and I think the new judges will be great! I love Nicki Minaj,” freshman Sylvia Dahlhauser said.

According to Entertainment Weekly, during the auditions Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey got into a small argument after a contestant auditioned, causing auditions to be canceled for the day. Between Carey and Minaj was Urban who attempted to separate it. Most people who have heard of this dispute thought it was all for show to get more viewers and add drama while others believe it was for real.

When the twelfth season premieres in January, viewers and contestants will not only see returning judge Randy Jackson, but also returning host Ryan Seacrest when the auditions begin in New York City.

Several other talent-finding shows are in season including “The X-Factor” and “The Voice.” Some viewers believe that American Idol could be staging the fight to ensure that the other shows don’t have as much popularity as American Idol. The show has been out for twelve years now and several viewers think that it is getting old and want something more different and interesting.

Throughout the several changes on the judges’ panel over the past eleven years, viewers have been able to see other different types of judges with a lot of different styles. Most of the recent judges have been very well known in the music world, including artists like Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Others are known singer-song writers like Kara DioGuardi or comedians such as Ellen DeGeneres.

According to President of CORE Media Group, Marc Graboff on Americanidol.com, Idol has “truly never looked better.”