Nevermind, guys. Despite reports that Dr. Luke was thisclose to becoming the third judge on American Idol's 13th season, The Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that Dr. Luke has been forced to drop out of negotiations because of a "conflict of interest"— a.k.a., he wants to continue to produce hit song after hit song, and spending his nights chilling on Idol with Fox wouldn't allow him the time to do so.
From THR:
For Luke's part, says an insider close to the situation, the hit-maker came to the realization that the commitment would simply demand too much of his time. "He really loves his artists and wants to build up the label," a source tells THR, adding that Kemosabe is "on the cusp" of breaking Becky G, a top priority for the imprint and the company overall. Beyond the label's current projects, "Luke wants to build an entertainment company ... after a lot of conversations, both Luke and Sony Music CEO Doug Morris came to the mutual agreement that taking Dr. Luke out of the Idol running "was the best thing for all parties."
It does make sense: Idol takes up a lot of time for about six months, and Dr. Luke is the dude who was responsible for producing hits like Katy Perry's "Wide Awake," One Direction's "Rock Me," Ke$ha's "Die Young," and Marina & the Diamonds' "How to Be a Heartbreaker" — all in one year. To continue to do so and focus on his label with Sony, he wouldn't be able to dedicate half the time Idol demands.
Now that Dr. Luke is officially out of the running, THR reports that Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun is being considered for the third judge spot (likely to bring in the teenage girl audience), per an "eleventh hour" suggestion by confirmed judge Jennifer Lopez. No word on what Idol's decision will be, but as long as it involves no appearances from Bieber himself, Scooter Braun seems like an alright choice. At least he knows how to make pop stars popular.
As previously reported, Lopez and returning judge Keith Urban have been confirmed for season 13 of the series so far.
