Nicki Minaj

This was the last year that BET staged its annual awards spectacle at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, where it'd been held since 2006, and Sunday's telecast lived up to its "Too big to miss" tagline. The three-hour-plus production saw the highly antcipated return of D'Angelo, over-the-top performances by Kanye West (and his G.O.O.D. Music clan), Nicki Minaj and an emotional tribute to the late Whitney Houston led by her mother, Cissy. Though not a ratings smash -- it drew 7.4 million viewers, down slightly from last year's 7.7 million --  next year's telecast could change that.

Fox is denying a report that "American Idol" considered coaxing "Jenny From the Block" to make a U-turn on the "American Idol" judging street. A story from The Hollywood Reporter said a dip in ratings had producers scrambling to find a solution to bail out the long-running singing competition series: swapping Mariah Carey for former "Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez came to mind. A scheme that apparently was halted when Mariah Carey threatened legal action. A Fox spokesperson denied the conspiracy, while hinting that Lopez could return for the show's upcoming finale.

After being hospitalized in Los Angeles following a series of seizures last week, rapper Lil Wayne has been visited by several high-profile associates including Nicki Minaj, Drake, Birdman and basketball player Chris Paul. Birdman tweeted that the rapper “will be home real soon,” and a source close to Wayne told The Times on Friday that he was “recovering.” Another source told US Weekly that Lil Wayne's health problems could stem from his use of a popular drink combining cough syrup with codeine and other ingredients.

Candice Glover showed us -- twice -- why she undoubtedly belongs in the top three on "American Idol" on Wednesday night, no matter what Jimmy Iovine and the judges (save for Mariah Carey) said last week. In fact, the South Carolina 23-year-old soul singer proved she's right up there with Kree Harrison (sorry, Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb) as a worthy contender to win the whole thing. If I had to rank the remaining contestants at this point -- in terms of my own favorites-- it would look something like this: 1 and 2 (in no particular order)

Forget catfight - the videotaped throwdown between divas Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey was more like a yappy pink Chihuahua going 100% at a Great Dane. The two new "American Idol" judges, with fellow newbie Keith Urban trapped at the table between them, reportedly went at it near the end of the day in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday after a disagreement about a contestant's audition. Sound on the video , obtained by TMZ, is difficult to understand clearly, but according to the website's transcript , a pink-haired Minaj rails against Carey over alleged insults, resume-touting and more while the elder diva bemoans her co-judge's immaturity and the fact that the drama is keeping her from her kids.

Fame is a funny thing, especially when it comes to someone with such obvious talent as Nicki Minaj, whose stardom seemed assured from the start. It was only a few years ago that the superstar rapper earned her ubiquity with a string of explosive, immediately identifiable cameos.  With a whip-smart wit, fantastic verbal skills and a fluid, inventive flow, Minaj was -- and remains -- a game-changing talent in a very competitive field. She reminded women that rapping offers expressive and financial freedom, and she made talented rappers from the opposite sex sound like amateurs alongside her crazy, roller coaster rhymes and delivery.

Well, so much for playing nice. “American Idol” has barely gotten underway and a purported feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj -- they've both denied the beef -- has become a full-blown diva showdown, as seen in video leaked by TMZ on Tuesday evening. In the clip, Minaj and Carey are in a heated argument that reportedly derailed auditions in Charlotte, N.C. PHOTOS: 'Idol' judges through the years There's plenty of swearing and shouting in the clip, so it's hard to fully decipher the argument.

Following weeks of speculation, Fox has made it official: Pop star Nicki Minaj and country crooner Keith Urban will join Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson as "American Idol" judges. The move comes as "Idol" gets ready to start auditions in New York on Sunday for Season 12, which will premiere in January on Fox. The field is crowded: Earlier this week, singing-show rivals "The X Factor" and "The Voice" opened to relatively soft ratings, with the former losing nearly one-third of its audience compared with last year.

Nicki Minaj took a break from her usual fashion escapades to make another kind of sartorial statement in her latest music video (warning: explicit lyrics) for the single "Freedom" off her album "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded The Re-Up. " In the video Minaj wears a crown of thorns and a long black dress, making a comparison to Jesus Christ. [ MTV ] Leslie Mann, wife of funnyman screenwriter Judd Apatow wears Gucci on the December cover of Marie Claire. Mann broke her toe on the shoot after attempting to jump for the photographer to get her dress to billow.

CBS This Morning Kevin Frazier; Billy Gardell; author Harlan Coben. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Carol Burnett; Viola Davis; Ashanti; chef Shea Gallante; Maggie Gyllenhaal. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America Steven Tyler. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Good Day L.A. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV Rachael Ray Regis Philbin. (N) 8 a.m. KCAL Live With Kelly and Michael Maggie Gyllenhaal; Billy Gardell; Emmy Awards; Dog Week. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View Guest co-host Gabby Douglas; Nicki Minaj; Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence.

It was "rock week" on "American Idol" as the top 7 took on rock 'n' roll classics, with varying results. It also happened to be injury week, with top talents Kree Harrison and Candice Glover singing through their pain. Harrison had a pinched nerve that limited her arm movement. Glover had an April Fools' prank-related injury: She broke a toe when Burnell Taylor persuaded her to try to fool Lazaro Arbos into thinking the house was on fire. Yes, fake house fire, real backfire. "That's what you get for trying to play a trick on Lazaro," Nicki Minaj chided.

Nicki Minaj is not about to calm down, Devin Velez, and she's not afraid to let the world know how she thinks contestants should behave once they're off "American Idol. " The flamboyant judge and recently nuked contestant Velez got into a war of words, with Minaj definitely working the louder public voice online. After first telling reporters in a Friday conference call that he was "not really unfairly" criticized for last week's three-man "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"

The producers at "American Idol" wanted to shore up a dramatic slide in ratings for the show's newest season, so they added three star judges and even allowed viewers to vote online for favorites up to 50 times simultaneously. The changes for the 12th season didn't help. Ratings have plummeted by double digits for the second year in a row, down this season by 18%, to 15.8 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. In its fifth season in 2006, "Idol's" average audience was more than twice as large.

Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio has been named as one of three vocal coaches for "La Voz Kids," the kids-and-teens singing competition and Spanish-language spinoff of "The Voice," which will air this spring on the Telemundo network. Rubio has prior experience with the global-juggernaut program. She was a judge last year on "La Voz Mexico," one of several Latin regional versions of "The Voice" that pits youngsters against one another in a sort of musical version of "The Hunger Games," only not quite as bloody.

After being hospitalized in Los Angeles following a series of seizures last week, rapper Lil Wayne has been visited by several high-profile associates including Nicki Minaj, Drake, Birdman and basketball player Chris Paul. Birdman tweeted that the rapper “will be home real soon,” and a source close to Wayne told The Times on Friday that he was “recovering.” Another source told US Weekly that Lil Wayne's health problems could stem from his use of a popular drink combining cough syrup with codeine and other ingredients.

"American Idol" is handling its revelations differently this year - telling us a little more about the standings than simply which two singers are the bottom vote-getters and which, ultimately, came in dead last. Call me a stick-in-the-mud, unable to adapt to change, but knowing the top three PLUS the specific rankings for Nos. 4-7 is more than I'd like to know every step of the way. It's all so "X Factor"-ish: No mystery. No suspense. Relatively little drama. But no one asked me. PHOTOS: 'American Idol': Where are they now?

Nicki Minaj is tired of singing judges who are "overtly passive. " So she's ready to get tough with contestants this month for the 12th season of "American Idol. " "I don't really have a problem saying 'no,' because we're looking for the best of the best," the eccentric rapper-singer told reporters Tuesday morning at the TV press tour in Pasadena. Cracking down seems to be the marching order for "Idol" now, after two seasons in which the since-departed judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler frequently told even mediocre singers their performances were "beautiful.

A lot has happened in the seven months since Nicki Minaj issued her sophomore effort, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.” The pop-rap minx has gone on her first headlining tour, issued a perfume (a clothing line is also in the works) and joined the judges' panel on “American Idol.” As her profile continues to rise, Minaj has also seen her artistry scrutinized. Her sophomore effort fueled contention among critics and rap purists, many of whom felt the platinum-selling femcee had turned her back on hip-hop in search of pop success.

Nicki Minaj looks fierce on the cover of the April edition of Elle, which did a "makeunder" that toned down her usual colorful look. Inside, she talks about childhood bullies, women in business and her plans for world domination. [Elle] But, just like the rest of us, she can get stuck in traffic. Which apparently is what happened to her on Wednesday, when she showed up 13 minutes late to a live taping of "American Idol," after reportedly being jammed up on L.A.'s notorious 405 Freeway.

If "American Idol" doesn't crown a female winner this year, it'll be a full-on crime. The women in the running are just so much better than the men. That couldn't have been clearer on Wednesday night, when the top 10 paid homage to past "Idol" winners by singing songs at some point sung by the former champs. It was a theme guaranteed to feel derivative -- and to show off comparative flaws -- but what are you going to do? Clearly, "Idol" is doing what it can to remind us of our long history together: Even though Nicki Minaj can't be bothered to show up on time (stuck in traffic, she said; unprofessional, I say)