The official judges for America Idol are as follows; Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Randy Jackson. On Sunday the famous singing competition kicked of their first round of auditions in the Big Apple. It is rumored that Nicki will bank $8 million for her participation. Grammy-award winning singer Mariah Carey was enlisted for a whopping $18 million. The 12th season begins this January on the FOX Network.