by Isi Esene

If you are one of those with ears to the ground on any news concerning the American Idol tv show then it’s no longer news that Mariah Carey has replaced Jennifer Lopez on the popular show. What is however news is that by accepting to be a judge on the show she became the highest paid judge on American reality TV.

According to TMZ, the Grammy Award winning singer would be smiling to the bank with an annual contract close to $18m.

Carey’s deal dwarfs the contract Jennifer Lopez signed when she joined the show. Jennifer signed a $12m deal when she joined the show.

Her pay is also $3m higher than Britney Spears contract of $15m at the X-Factor.

Carey, 42, has won the Grammy five times has sold more than 200 million records worldwide.

On twitter, she expressed her joy at joining the show when she tweeted: “It’s gonna be so much fun working on American Idol. As a singer-songwriter, I’m excited to help find and nurture new talent. LYM! – MC.”

Well, who would not be excited going home with an $18m jackpot?

Speculations have been rife about Randy Jackson’s status on the show following the withdrawal of fellow judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, but Kevin Reilly, the president of Fox Entertainment said, “We’ve got a great relationship with Randy Jackson. He’s a very important part of that television show,” adding that he expects to announce a decision on Mr. Jackson’s future “in the next week or so.”