American Idol - Judges and Hosts

Judges and Hosts

The show had originally planned on having four judges following the Pop Idol format, however only three judges had been found by the time of the audition round in the first season, namely Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. A fourth judge, radio DJ Stryker, was originally chosen but he dropped out citing "image concerns". In the second season, New York radio personality Angie Martinez had been hired as a fourth judge but withdrew only after a few days of auditions due to not being comfortable with giving out criticism. The show decided to continue with the three judges format until season eight. All three original judges stayed on the judging panel for eight seasons.

In season eight, Latin Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi was added as a fourth judge. She stayed for two seasons and left the show before season ten. Paula Abdul left the show before season nine after failing to agree terms with the show producers. Emmy Award-winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres replaced Paula Abdul for that season, but left after just one season. On January 11, 2010, Simon Cowell announced that he was leaving the show to pursue introducing the American version of his show The X Factor to the USA for 2011. On September 22, 2010, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would join the judging panel. Both Tyler and Lopez left after two seasons as judges.

On July 23, 2012, it was announced that recording artist Mariah Carey would be joining the show as a judge for season twelve. On September 16, 2012, it was confirmed that Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj would join Carey and Jackson at the panel.

Guest judges may occasionally be introduced. In season two, guest judges such as Lionel Richie and Robin Gibb were used, and in season three Donna Summer, Quentin Tarantino and some of the mentors also joined as judges to critique the performances in the final rounds. Guest judges were used in the audition rounds for seasons four, six and nine, such as Gene Simmons and LL Cool J in season four, Jewel and Olivia Newton-John in season six, and Neil Patrick Harris, Shania Twain, Victoria Beckham, Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry in season nine.

The first season was co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. Dunkleman quit thereafter, making Seacrest the sole emcee of the show ever since.