Minaj, Carey fail to boost "American Idol" audience

Judges Randy Jackson (L-R), Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj and host Ryan Seacrest attend a Fox panel for the television series ''American Idol'' at the 2013 Winter Press Tour for the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California January 8, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

LOS ANGELES | Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:45pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The audience for "American Idol" slumped 19 percent to 17.9 million viewers, its lowest season opener, despite the debut of judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, according to early ratings data released on Thursday.

The two-hour premiere of the show's 12th season on Fox television also lost 19 percent of the 18-49 age group most coveted by advertisers, Nielsen figures showed. Total viewers dropped to 17.9 million from 21.9 million in 2012.

Despite the drop, "American Idol" was still the most watched show by a huge margin on U.S. television Wednesday night, beating all shows combined in the 18-49 demographic on the three other biggest TV networks.

Fox executives also noted that "Idol" beat the 2012 September premiere of NBC singing show rival "The Voice" by some 46 percent in total viewers.

"American Idol," long a ratings juggernaut for Fox, lost its eight-year crown as the most watched show on U.S. television last year to "Sunday Night Football."

Singers Carey, Minaj and country artist Keith Urban joined the show as judges after Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler left last year.

Fox is a unit of News Corp

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant, editing by Stacey Joyce)

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All Bieber wants for Christmas is...Mariah Carey

Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber greets his fans from the balcony of his hotel in Mexico City October 2, 2011. Bieber is performing two concerts in Mexico City as part of his ''My World Tour.''

Credit: Reuters/Stringer

LOS ANGELES | Wed Oct 5, 2011 4:44pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It's official. Justin Bieber is getting under the mistletoe with Mariah Carey.

Bieber, 17, has finally revealed to his fans on Twitter that he will be collaborating with the Grammy-winning singer on his upcoming Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe."

In a video message posted by Bieber on his Twitter page on Tuesday, Carey announced the collaboration, confirming that the pair will be doing a duet of Carey's 1994 festive hit single, "All I want for Christmas is you."

"I think a lot of you are already very surprised by this, and you're going to be even more surprised when you hear it," said Carey in the message.

Carey, 41, is the latest singer to join a high-caliber list of artists who are collaborating with Bieber on his "Under the Mistletoe" album. They include Bieber's mentor Usher, R&B group Boys II Men, rapper Busta Rhymes and country group The Band Perry.

The first single from Bieber's Christmas album, "Mistletoe," will be released on Oct 18, with the full album due for release on Nov 1.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

View the original article here

All Bieber wants for Christmas is...Mariah Carey (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It's official. Justin Bieber is getting under the mistletoe with Mariah Carey.

Bieber, 17, has finally revealed to his fans on Twitter that he will be collaborating with the Grammy-winning singer on his upcoming Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe."

In a video message posted by Bieber on his Twitter page on Tuesday, Carey announced the collaboration, confirming that the pair will be doing a duet of Carey's 1994 festive hit single, "All I want for Christmas is you."

"I think a lot of you are already very surprised by this, and you're going to be even more surprised when you hear it," said Carey in the message.

Carey, 41, is the latest singer to join a high-caliber list of artists who are collaborating with Bieber on his "Under the Mistletoe" album. They include Bieber's mentor Usher, R&B group Boys II Men, rapper Busta Rhymes and country group The Band Perry.

The first single from Bieber's Christmas album, "Mistletoe," will be released on Oct 18, with the full album due for release on Nov 1.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

View the original article here