Randy Jackson No Longer An 'American Idol' Judge

Good luck in the future, Randy Jackson. As "American Idol" judges went, you were tight, dawg.

It's no longer "speculation" or merely "rumored." As of Friday morning, Randy Jackson has officially stepped way from the FOX prime-time hit's judges table headed into a completely retooled twelfth season, according to TMZ.

Mind, Jackson isn't leaving "Idol" entirely bereft of his horse sense. He'll remain this season in an off-camera "mentor" role, leaving the actual public assessment of the contestants in the capable hands of newbie Mariah Carey and whoever else FOX announces as having officially been rounded up.

Though FOX hasn't yet made an official announcement, TMZ reports Nicki Minaj's deal to join what's been rumored to be a four-judge panel is "99-percent done," with previous conflicts between "Idol"-sponsoring Coca-Cola and Minaj's Pepsi endorsement worked around.

As we reported previously, Carey hung up on the call in which she was informed of Minaj's likely signing.  She allegedly went off saying that she wouldn't be the only superstar female performer at the table and that Minaj is a full 13 years Carey's junior.

Meanwhile, Australian country hit-maker Keith Urban has been rumored to be near a reported $3-4 million deal to judge the upcoming season. Producers definitely want both a hip-hop and country representative on this year's panel, so a Minaj-Urban pairing would solidly nail that. Previous chatter with Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kanye West look to be off the table.

Should there be a fourth judge, that still leaves a very interested, seemingly still-in-play Nick Jonas. That would round out judges carrying a fine variety of experiences informing their assessments.

Among those who have said "thanks, but no thanks," country superstar Toby Keith reportedly passed up a previous offer. Most shockingly, Katy Perry passed up a reported $20-million, one-year offer that would've trumped even Carey's $18-million deal for this season and landed the eight-time Grammy nominee somewhere closer to what Britney Spears is getting for her debut season on network rival "The X Factor.

Jackson's departure leaves only host Ryan Seacrest remaining of the original "Idol" on-camera personalities. Jackson's fellow initial judges, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, left respectively prior to and after the show's tenth season (Abdul left the show just prior to Hollywood Week.) He's judged recording-star hopefuls also alongside the likes of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres during his 11-season run.