Mariah Carey blows kisses.

It’s official: Mariah Carey has left the American Idol judges panel. Following news that both Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj had exited the show, Carey, who was also highest-paid cast member, revealed that she won’t return for a second season and is planning a world tour.

Carey received a record-breaking $18 million pay cheque for her role on American Idol as the highest-paid judge in the history of reality television. However, with tanking ratings and viewer backlash against the show’s lack of focus on the contestants, producers have been scrambling to remedy the situation.

So, the positions of all four American Idol judges were reconsidered, although Keith Urban has yet to confirm his departure. Meanwhile, Jennifer Hudson has already been named among the candidates for the 13th season of the show.

Carey won’t be idle (see what I did there?) during the coming months, though, because she is developing a world tour. Dates for the venture have yet to be announced but the diva’s new studio album, which is preceded by the hit single “#Beautiful (Ft. Miguel)”, will hit stores by the first week of July.

Watch Carey perform “I’ll Be There” with Trey Lorenz during her tour of Australia earlier this year below:

Thoughts?