New ‘American Idol’ Mentor Scott Borchetta Replaces Iovine And Jackson

When American Idol debuts its new season in January, viewers will meet a new mentor: Scott Borchetta. Best known as the man who discovered Taylor Swift when she was just 14 years old, Borchetta replaces departing mentors Jimmy Iovine and Randy Jackson.

The Hollywood Reporter noted that despite Borchetta’s prowess in the industry, he is an odd choice for the reality program, given his history of criticism. When Idol was in season 10, he took aim at the preparation the show gives contestants when season one winner Kelly Clarkson had a less-than-well-received performance at the Grammys.

“This is not American Idol. This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance.”

Despite the implication that Idol does not create “true artists,” Borchetta’s label Big Machine has been associated with two performers from its rival program, The Voice: season four winner Danielle Bradbery and season two contestant Rae Lynn Woodward.

Randy Jackson officially left Idol in November. With his departure, only Ryan Seacrest remains of the show’s original line-up. The New York Times quoted Jackson on the timing of his decision.

“After 13 seasons I felt now was the perfect time to leave ‘American Idol.’ I’m proud to have been a part of a series that discovered some incredible artists and will go down in history as one of the most successful television shows ever.”

Jackson was on the judges panel from season 1 through 12, and acted as mentor last season. This year will see the return of Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. as judges.

As quoted in Forbes, Connick praised Idol for its integrity and quality as a signing competition program, despite its age.

“I think it’s the gold standard. One, it’s been around the longest. Two, it’s the most streamlined of all these shows. I mean, there’s no gimmicks, there’s no teams. It’s just a bunch of people auditioning, and the group gets smaller and smaller and smaller until eventually it’s one person who wins.”

The season prior to Connick signing on, Idol was plagued by bickering between judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. He was credited with bringing a “nice guy” feeling to the judges panel.

Borchetta’s addition was told to The Hollywood Reporter by an unnamed source and Fox would not comment to the publication. Us Weekly also cites an unnamed source in a story it published yesterday reporting on Borchetta signing on with Idol.

[Scott Borchetta Image: NAB; American Idol Judges: USA Today]