Michael Becker/FOXSteven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez are in the house! The pop diva and rocker officially join Randy Jackson at the American Idol judges' table for season 10 of Fox's hit reality series. Their hires, rumored for weeks, were announced today on a stage full of rock-concert-appropriate smoke and lasers at the Forum in Los Angeles. (Welcome, new musical overlords!)
Want to see the announcement for yourself? Play the video above for the big moment (now with actual audio feed)!
Now, were you just born a couple of minutes ago? Do you need the scoop on the new judges? Here it is:
Steven Tyler is the lead singer of the rock band Aerosmith, but he may be better known to the younger folk as father to Liv Tyler, aka cute elf Arwen from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Jennifer Lopez, aka Jenny from the Block, aka J.Lo, is the consummate multihyphenate of our time. She sings, she acts, she dances, she does reality TV! Now married to Marc Anthony and the mom of twins, her own musical career has been slowing down of late (she recently parted ways with record company Sony Music Group). This new gig allows her to stay in the spotlight and earn beaucoup bucks without having to leave her 2-year-olds, Max and Emme, to tour or shoot on location. Deadline.com reports she'll earn $12 million for just one year with A.I.; she also got a first-look movie deal with Fox for her production company.
Two seats were open at the judges table this year. Original judges Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell left after seasons eight and nine, respectively; new judge Kara DioGuardi was released from service earlier this month after appearing on the last two seasons; and new judge Ellen DeGeneres resigned this summer after just one season.
Original judge Randy Jackson, who was best known as a bassist and A&R man before joining the ratings-ruling reality series, is returning for his 10th season with the show.
Will J.Lo will be the new "mean" judge, replacing Cowell? Could Tyler be replacing as Paula Abdul as the "loopily creative" judge? Only time will tell...
American Idol season 10 is set to premiere in January 2011.
Do you approve of these new hires? Do you think they'll bring new life to American Idol, or are they harbingers of shark-jumping?
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