‘American Idol’ season 13: Did Jennifer Lopez receive pay raise to return?

There is something that we still trying to wrap our heads around right now when it comes to “American Idol“: All summer long, we continued to hear about the producers’ avid desire to cut costs, and also at the same time focus on getting in some new judging talent and really change things up. What do we have instead? More money being thrown at Jennifer Lopez to come back, and a judging panel possibly featuring three people (if the third judge is Harry Connick Jr.) that are very familiar to viewers already.

According to the Daily Mail, Lopez is going to be paid $17.5 million to take part in the show’s 13th season, which may ultimately be the highest paycheck that she has earned for a year on the show. The issue here is that salaries for singing-show judges are hard sometimes to pin down exactly. We believe that J.Lo was paid around $15 million two seasons ago, and Mariah Carey earned a record $18 million last year.

What we really wonder here is if J.Lo is really worth that much money when you already know how big of an audience she is really capable of bringing in, and how many viewers that you could get without her. Most of the “American Idol” faithful are not watching because of her, and if you want to get new viewers, you need a product that is just hands-down entertaining. “The Voice” proved its first two years that you don’t need a good winner to get people to watch; you just need a fun show.

If you were in the shoes of “American Idol,” just how much would you be willing to pay Lopez for a season on TV? Be sure to share of your thoughts below, and we’ll have more on that third judge … whenever they are announced.

Photo: Fox