Keith Urban rumoured to be next American Idol judge

Keith Urban

MCT FILE PHOTO Unconfirmed reports say Keith Urban will be sitting next to Mariah Carey, judging the youth of America on Idol.

It looks like Nicole Kidmans husband may have gotten himself a new job. According to The Country Vibe, citing unnamed sources, Urban has already signed on to become part of a brand-new American Idol judging panel.

After the departure of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, and the rumoured relegation of Randy Jackson to some sort of mentoring role, the producers have been searching high and low.

So far, the only official announcement has been about Mariah Carey, but pretty much everyone whos ever picked up a guitar or sung a jaunty auto-tune has been thrown into the rumour mill. And Urban seems like a good choice: hes not going to infringe on Careys super-diva turf and after years of looking at his wifes forehead hes good at pretending that things that arent real are really good.

But who will fill the remaining seat or, possibly, seats?

Nicki Minaj: She still looks like a strong contender, except that Carey apparently threw a hissy fit and slammed down the phone when she was told. Us Weekly said last week that it was a done deal: A few more slight things to sign off on but it is happening.

Katy Perry: According to the New York Daily News, she turned down $20-million pay day from Idol. Shes probably too busy being embarrassed ove! r that whole dating John Mayer thing.

Enrique Iglesias: Antimusic, quoting Hollyscoop, says that hes in the mix as well: "We can confirm they are discussing," a source said. "Yes, Idol has expressed a lot of interest but no final word on either side yet."

Nick Jonas: His brother Kevin said last week that, yes, there were talks and there still are talks: "Well rumors are true; he's being considered for a judge and if he was to be a judge on that show, he would do an incredible job," the eldest JoBro, Kevin, shared withMTV News about his baby brother. "And I really hope he gets the job. And I hope they choose Nick." This would probably have been a great idea before the collective tween hive-mind forgot all about the Jonas Brothers.

Kanye West: According to Pop Crush, now that West has been absorbed into the Kardashian Kult, Kris Jenner is trying very hard to get her perhaps-future-son-in-law on Idol because it would be great for Keeping up with the Kardashians. And, you know who the producer of that show is, dont you? That would be one Ryan Seacrest.

Of course, Jimmy Kimmel is right: Gordon Ramsay is the only logical choice.