Randy Jackson will reportedly be returning to American Idol as a judge after all.
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The reports that Jackson -- who has been a judge on American Idol since its very first season premiered in 2002 -- will be part on the panel again surfaced shortly after former Idol judge Simon Cowell tweeted he had heard Jackson was "back" on the show.
"Just heard Randy is back on Idol. Right decision," Cowell wrote.
Jackson had dodged questions about his Idol status during a Monday morning appearance on NBC's Today show.
"Are you still a judge? What's going on with you?" Today co-host Hoda Kotb asked Jackson.
"Listen, Idol is an amazing show," said Jackson with a little hesitation. "My friend Mariah Carey is there. I think she's going to bring a lot of excitement to it. Let's see what happens, Let's see what happens!"
In addition to Jackson and Carey -- the season's only officially confirmed judge so far -- rapper Nicki Minaj and country artist Keith Urban will reportedly also serve on Idol's new twelfth-season judging panel.
Last month, TMZ reported Jackson would definitely be leaving American Idol's judging panel but sticking around as a mentor for the twelfth-season contestants. According to the website, Idol producers wanted to keep Jackson -- the only remaining member of last season's judging panel which also included Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler -- on the show because he's "the glue" that keeps it together.
TMZ's report had followed weeks of prior reports about Jackson's future involvement with Idol or potential departure.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
