The 14th season of American Idol will have the same judge’s panel as the previous season, but a new mentor is stepping in. While he is a major force in the music industry, there’s a strong chance that he won’t be a big enough reason for viewers to tune in.
Last month, Fox, Jackson and FremantleMedia confirmed that the producer would be leaving the series for good. Jackson had been a part of Idol’s glory days and had returned as a mentor last season, alongside judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban.
It took a few weeks, but Fox announced on Wednesday that they had finally found a replacement for Jackson, although he’s not a marquee name. Scott Borchetta, the CEO of country music label Big Machine Records, will be the new season’s mentor.
Fox might be thinking that Borchetta could enlist some of the big names on his label to perform during the season. His artists include Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, The Band PErry, Florida Georgia Line and Rascal Flatts.
Borchetta was actually in the news recently, since he tried to explain why Swift left Spotify. At one point, he claimed that the “Blank Space” singer only earned $500,000 domestically from the streaming service.
“There’s only one reason I’m doing this: American Idol has proven again and again that it can launch superstars. I believe that working with these young artists the same way we work with new artists at the Big Machine Label Group will help the next American Idol be as prepared as possible to continue the tradition of creating new superstars,” Borchetta said in a statement. “The entire label group will be invested and we look forward to bringing our energy, focus and know-how to help develop this young talent at the highest levels.”
Idol’s new season starts on Wednesday, Jan. 7 and Thursday, Jan. 8.
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