American Idol Season 12 "OMG" Promo (HD)

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Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj star in 'American Idol' season 12 promo

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Take a break from baseball and celebrate the highly-anticipated return of FOX's "American Idol."

A brand new promo shamelessly stokes the flames of sentimentality and patriotism as it cuts between young-looking pop star wannabes in their humble surroundings and the show's judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson and Keith Urban, the heavy made-up elite who promise to make dreams come true. 

Host Ryan Seacrest also gets in on the action, welcoming viewers back to the show's 12th season. 

The promo will run later today during game 3 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers.

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South Africa's Version Of "American Idol' Gets Its First Black Winner.His nane is Khaya mthethwa

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So what took so long? After all, we're talking about a country in which roughly 80 percent of the population is black, yet it's taken 8 seasons in 10 years (the show debuted on South African TV network M-Net in 2002) for a black South African winner to be crowned.

Well, let's start with decades of apartheid which enforced racial segregation, curtailed the rights of blacks, and maintained white supremacy, creating deep, and still lingering imbalances in wealth that made the country one of the most unequal in the world.

And for that reason... as the program has long and continues to be broadcast on South Africa’s M-Net network (via DStv), a subscription-based private satellite channel, the subscriber base has largely been white, because blacks in the country haven't been able afford the necessary subscription fees (although that's gradually changing, as more black people are able to afford luxuries like satellite TV); and since winners are selected by votes from audiences, with a predominantly white subscription base, it should be maybe no surprise that the winners selected each of the last 7 seasons have been predominantly white (there has been 1 mixed-race winner).

The show has most certainly had black contestants, and while some of them would make it to the final rounds, the crown has unfortunately eluded them.

Even the judges noticed this trend, and one of them lashed out against it at the end of season 6, when a white rock musician beat out a black singer by almost twice as many votes; Mara Louw, a judge at the time, said: "Lloyd [the black singer] should have won... Blacks do not have access to DStv. This excludes a sizable chunk of South Africans from the competition. Whites vote for whites and blacks are disadvantaged... I am sick and tired of being politically correct. The whites refuse to vote for blacks."

As the New York Times notes, change is happening, as M-Net’s audience, which was once mostly white, is now starting to closely reflect the country's demographic, despite that fact that poverty is still a major societal problem, within the majority black population.

"More and more black people have actually been entering ‘Idols,’ and more and more black people have been getting further along in the competition, and finally this year we have a black winner... This year’s winner was voted for because he was the best. But it is also reflective of the changing social fabric of South Africa," said Yolisa Phahle, an executive at M-Net.

But it doesn't end there; even with what appears to be progress, there's still the matter of the kind of music the contestants on the program sing - mostly American top 40 music; some would prefer that contestants instead borrow from the country's own local popular varied music styles and musicians.

"Every time I hear these people singing another Mariah Carey song I get tired... It is really a cultural catastrophe that we are not leveraging the stuff we are very good at,” said writer/photographer Victor Dlamini.

"It is not our music... We already have our own R&B and house in our own languages. Why would we sing in English?" added Phindile Maseko, a 35-year-old social worker.

Baby steps I suppose...

Oh, and by the way, this year's winner of South Africa's Idols, and the first black winner, is Khaya Mthethwa; one of the tracks he performed during his winning showcase was Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass, a song he had reportedly only just heard for the first time the day he performed it. The judges were blown away.

And how's Mr. Mthethwa - son of preachers from Durban, who grew up singing gospel music in church - reacting to all of this?

"It saddens me that so many years after our democracy we still have to racialize things," he said.

Previous performances:












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'American Idol' execs squash rumors they're firing Nicki Minaj

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American Idol producers are putting an end to talk they're on the verge of dropping Nicki Minaj from the popular talent show's newest judging panel.

"Despite all the accusations and media speculation -- much of which is inaccurate -- production is going extremely well today and the judges are focused on finding the best talent here in Baton Rouge," Idol producers said in a statement Friday.

In the past few days, much ado has been made about the rapper's future with Idol since video leaked of Nicki Minaj feuding with her co-judge Mariah Carey, as well as various lively statements from both parties in the days since.

"This is one of the best, most passionate, dynamic and invested judging panels we've ever had. We love and support all of the judges and the fantastic work they are doing, and we can't imagine a better group to find the next AMERICAN IDOL," The Idol execs go on to say.

Earlier this week, fellow judge Keith Urban weighed in on the testy situation, assuring that all is well despite appearances.

"We're putting the fun back in dysfunction, that's what we're doing," he joked. "We're four passionate people, some more so than others, and we're very intense artists and it comes out in different ways. But the great thing is we've been hearing killer singers."

Season twelve of American Idol is set to premiere in January 2013.

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NICKI MINAJ Allegedly Targets Mariah IF I HAD A GUN

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Nicki Minaj's rant on the "American Idol" set Tuesday went way beyond name-calling ... she threatened Mariah Carey's life -- this according to sources connected to the production.

Our sources say ... in the heat of the argument, Nicki said, "If I had a gun I would shoot her."

The alleged threat was not captured on the video obtained by TMZ. But this is interesting ... if you listen to the audio closely, 11 seconds in you hear Nicki say to Mariah, "Off with your head! Off with your head!."

A source close to Nicki says the singer calls B.S. on the death threat allegation.

Update: Nigel Lythgoe tells TMZ, "The statement [that Nicki made a death threat] is absolute rubbish. It's absolutely not true in any way, shape or form." Nigel added that Mariah confronted Nicki this morning and asked if she made the death threat and Nicki said absolutely not. Nigel says Mariah's people are stirring the pot and gave her bad info.

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Video Nicki Minaj bitching the hell out of Mariah Carey on American Idol -Things are getting nasty in there.

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Official New Pic of The New Judges of AMERICAN IDOL-Nicki Minaj,Keith Urban and Mariah Carey

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Katy Perry rejects $20 million Idol offer

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"American Idol" desperately wanted Katy Perry to fill one of its vacant judge's seats, so much so, they offered her $20 MILLION ... but she she still turned it down ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... "Idol" pursued Perry relentlessly for weeks, eager to get her to sign on the dotted line. According to our sources, they started the offer at $18 million, but threw even more cash on the table ... $20 MILLION for a one year contract!!!

We're told Katy made it clear ... she was NOT interested and money wasn't the issue.

Sources tell us ... aside from the fact that Katy's schedule made it impossible to do the show ... she just didn't think it was right career choice for her.

Mariah must be one pissed, $18 million judge. 

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Mariah Carey is not happy about Nicki Minaj American Idol possibility -1 gif of Rihanna

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Nicki Minaj may well become a judge on "American Idol," but it will be at the expense of Mariah Carey, who we're told hung up the phone when she was told Nicki was the top candidate.

Sources connected with "Idol" tell TMZ ... Mariah was led to believe she would be the only woman on the judge's panel.  Choosing Nicki would not only crush that expectation, it would add insult to injury because Nicki (29) is a lot younger than Mariah (42).

As for the composition of the judge's panel, we're told by no means is it a done deal.  There are 2 scenarios being played out.  First, it's unclear if Randy Jackson will come back as a judge or a mentor.  If he leaves the judge's panel, there will be another spot to fill.

The second scenario ... we're told some of the honchos believe it's a mistake to have 2 women and a man on the panel, and a 4th male judge would be necessary.

As for who's still in the running, we're told Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Enrique Iglesias are leading the pack.

And there's one other thing ... Sources connected with the show say they're worried ... if the judges end up being Mariah, Nicki and Randy ... middle America might not welcome the blackout.

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Kanye West In 'Idol' Talks

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Kanye West is negotiating with producers to become an "American Idol" judge ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ, "Idol" honchos reached out to Kanye recently about filling one of the open judging spots ... and Kanye expressed interest.

But that doesn't mean he's on board -- we're told Yeezy is still unsure about accepting the gig. The way it was put to us ... "He's on the fence," because he's not sure if "A.I." is in his wheelhouse.

And there's another big hang up -- cash. Informed sources tell TMZ ... "Idol" would "at least match Mariah's salary" -- a cool $18 mil a year.

It looks like Nicki Minaj is either close to signing a deal or has signed one to become a judge, but we're told producers may well add a 4th judge. As we reported, the frontrunners are Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Enrique Iglesias, but Kanye would clearly trump them all.

Calls to Kanye's camp were not returned.

tmz