‘American Idol’ 2013: Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj Confirm ‘Idol’ Exits, Will Not Return As Season 13 Judges, Bickering Pop Stars Depart After One Season

The future of 'American Idol' became a little clearer on Thursday as judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj confirmed they would not return to the show for the upcoming Season 13.

First, Carey announced that she would not be coming back to the reality singing competition in order to focus on her upcoming tour, according to The Associated Press.

A few hours later, Minaj posted the following exit confirmation on her official Twitter account:

Both Minaj and Carey were new judges during Season 12 (along with country star Keith Urban) and joined Randy Jackson, who had been with the show since Season 1, on the judges' panel. Much of the focus of the show this season was on the judges, specifically the ongoing feud and bickering between Minaj and Carey.

Jackson was the only original judge left on the show, but he announced before the Season 12 finale that he would not return next season.

Carey's PR firm announced on Twitter the world tour on Twitter and ABC News reports that it will begin in Asia in October. Her latest song, "#Beautiful," has reached number one on the charts in more than 30 countries.

Now that three of the four judges from Season 12 have officially exited the show, the makeup of the panel for next season is unclear. As Mstars reported Thursday, Urban told The Associated Press that even he is not sure about the future of "American Idol."

"I have no official information of anything," Urban said. "I'm pretty much in the same boat as everybody else here with the rumors that have been floating around. I don't know anything more about what's happening next season. It was like this before I signed on...so it's not unusual for the 'Idol' folks to be in this place of figuring out what they want to do, then they always pull it together."