14 DAY TRIAL // American Idol is literally at a crossroads, with both Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey out as judges and, perhaps more importantly, Nigel Lythgoe, out as executive producer. THR says that Jennifer Lopez is now intensely courted to come back.
Though criticized at first for being too “mellow,” there’s no denying that JLo became a very popular judge as the weeks went on, to the point where many fans stopped watching when she left for good.
If you too are among those fans, you might want to consider coming back to Idol – because so is Lopez. The condition for that to happen: producers must make a very convincing case. i.e. throw money at her.
“While on Idol, Lopez earned an estimated $15 million [€11.3 million] per season. It was reported that her successor, Mariah Carey, got $3 million [€2.2 million] more than that,” THR writes.
“No doubt Lopez’s manager Benny Medina, who, another insider says is ‘pushing hard to do a deal,’ is asking for a hefty pay raise for Lopez. (Also worth noting: Midway through Idol’s lackluster season 12, producers approached Lopez’s team with a plan to replace Carey with Lopez.),” adds the same media outlet.
It even ventures a possible salary for Jennifer for a single season: a whopping $20 million (€15 million), if not actually more.