American Idol that season, but left after just one season. On January 11, 2010, Simon Cowell left the show to pursue introducing the American version of his show "The X Factor" for 2011. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joined the judging panel in the tenth season, but both left after two seasons. They were replaced by three new judges, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, who joined Randy Jackson in the twelfth season. However both Carey and Minaj left after one season, and Randy Jackson departed the show after twelve seasons as a judge but would return as a mentor. Urban
American Idol American Idol American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle USA and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. On March 11, 2018, the sixteenth season debuted on ABC. It started as an addition to the "Idols" format that was based on "Pop Idol" from British television, and became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television. The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with