‘American Idol’ season 13: Why Kanye West, Diddy reportedly each said no

While Dr. Luke appears to be the final contender to join the “American Idol” judging panel for season 13 alongside both Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban, we are now getting at least a little bit more insight into why some other top contenders for the gig decided to say no.

According to Us Weekly, Kanye West reportedly turned down the gig because he thought that it would damage some of the “street cred” that he has as a somewhat-enigmatic rapper who likes to do things his own way. We understand and in some ways respect that judging on this show could dilute your personality on-stage, but at the same time, we don’t really buy it coming from Kanye. This is a guy, after all, who is in a relationship with Kim Kardashian, who is not exactly the sort of person you would think of when you hear the word “enigmatic.”

Meanwhile, the site also claims that Sean “Diddy” Combs said no because of the idea of working alongside ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez and former manager Benny Medina. His rep has denied it, and in this case, we believe the rep. We ultimately think that he and Kanye’s reasons for not doing the show are the same: There’s ultimately no real motivation for them to go through with this. Hip-hop has never been appreciated on “American Idol,” and they are each already incredibly rich without doing anything at all related to the show. They just don’t need the money or the time commitment for little gain.

Will.i.am’s decision to not return was confirmed yesterday, as it was reported that he was going to be back on “The Voice” UK for its third season, which is the same gig that he has held since the show’s beginning.

Photo: Fox