Last night's episode of American Idol delivered the much-hyped spat between Nicki Minaj, Marah Carey and Randy Jackson. The episode started off with a reminder of the dispute that made headlines back when the auditions were actually happening and we finally got to see it play out on screen as the show focuses on the Charlotte auditions. If you missed it, check out the video ahead.
It started with a comment from one of the contestants, but make no mistake, there's been tension at the judges table since Season 12 began. And really, it seemed like Nicki and Mariah were just waiting for an appropriate opportunity to disagree with one another on something show-related. At the very least, their spat was about an audition and not about something off-topic, so… points for that? Regardless, it began with something seemingly harmless.
Auditioner Summer Cunningham did her audition and - when answering questions for the judges about her music - said she "did the 'country thing'" already. The comment rubbed Keith the wrong way, though he was mostly polite about it. But the topic of the girl's direction got Nicki, Mariah and Randy into an argument. Watch it ahead.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I didn't realize the blow-up was going to be about how they handled criticism for a specific contestant. It came down to Nicki not appreciating the way Mariah and Randy were advising the girl on what style of music she should, which I sort of get if Nicki's a believer in letting an artist find their own style. And then again, Randy and Mariah have their opinions and that's the whole point of the show - to judge and critique. In the end, I think this was all about them wanting something to argue over and finding it in Summer's audition.
Meanwhile, Keith was there to get things back on track just long enough to get the girl her golden ticket and send her on the way. Nice job, Keith!
