Mariah Carey Drops Randy Jackson As Manager
Mariah Carey has dropped fellow American Idol judge Randy Jackson as her manager.
The two first met in the 1990s when Jackson was an A&R man for Columbia Records, which released Carey’s first six studio albums. Jackson helped Carey land her Idol gig at a record-setting sum of $18 million.
However, Carey’s run on the singing competition has been filled with conflict, resulting from a feud between the “Touch My Body” singer and fellow judge Nicki Minaj. The two had an argument during the early auditions, and the video leaked on the Internet before the new season even began airing. The two have been fighting ever since.
Last week, yet another argument ensued. This one stemmed from a comment Carey made during Wednesday’s broadcast. While Carey was critiquing a singer’s performance, Minaj interrupted to disagree. Carey then criticized Minaj for never having a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
Minaj — taking advantage of a report that said Idol executives were planning to replace Carey with Jennifer Lopez — later wrote on Twitter, “All dem #1s but JLo phone ringin? Lol. I guess having a personality, being a secure woman, and giving genuine critique still trumps that.”
Minaj then went on to slam Carey even further, writing, “What u SHOULD be doing (wit your messy a**) is asking why a woman SO successful at her age, is still so INSECURE, and bitter.”
A Fox spokeswoman went on to deny the rumor that Carey was being replaced, saying, “This is just another ridiculous Idol judge rumor, likely started by talks of Jennifer performing on the finale.”
Despite her ongoing battle with Minaj, Carey never appeared to have any bad blood with Jackson. The two have always appeared to get along, which isn’t surprising considering how involved Jackson has been in Carey’s career. He’s been with her through the highs and lows, and he produced two songs on the soundtrack for Carey’s widely panned 2001 semi-autobiographical film Glitter.
Carey, who released her new single “#Beautiful” (yes, the hashtag is actually part of the title) earlier this week, has signed a contract with Red Light Management. RLM represents Alicia Keys, Radiohead, and Steven Tyler, among other artists.
According to Showbiz411, “hectic” schedules were the cause of Carey’s split from Jackson, who has been managing her career since 2011.
Are you surprised Mariah Carey has dropped Randy Jackson as her manager?
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