Carey, Minaj, Urban and Jackson Are Confirmed As American Idol Judges

After weeks of rumors, Fox has finally announced the new judging panel for American Idol, and it's no surprise: all the names we've heard mentioned have turned out to be true.  Your new judges are Mariah Carey already announced weeks ago  plus rapper Nicki Minaj, country superstar Keith Urban and original judge Randy Jackson.  They'll meet prospective contestants today, Sunday, in New York City.

Both Ryan Seacrest and Mariah Carey tweeted photos of the new judge lineup, both in a casual pose and seated at the judge's table.  "After some musical chairs, here how the new #IdolJudges will be seated," Ryan tweeted.  The lineup, from left to right, is Mariah, Keith, Nicki and Randy.

In a statement, Fox executive Mike Darnell said, ""With an unparallelled star like Mariah, fan-favorite Randy, chart-toppers like Nicki and Keith and our incomparable host Ryan Seacreast, we've put together one of the most exciting judging panels around."

The new season of American Idol debuts January 2013.