Aretha Franklin Wants to Judge 'American Idol' With Patti LaBelle

Aretha Franklin has offered herself to be a new judge on "American Idol", various news outlets reported. According to CNN and TMZ, the "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" singer herself has confirmed it as she sent an email saying, "Yes, I am interested as a judge," in reply to a question about her possible involvement in the singing competition.

Claiming she has been a long fan of the popular talent show, the 70-year-old songstress has allegedly planned to bring along fellow singer Patti LaBelle as her sidekick. FOX, however, declined to comment on the matter.

Words that the multiple Grammy Awards winner wanted to join the judging panel of the show came just a few days after Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez bowed out of the reality series. The former prefers to focus on his project with his band Aerosmith, while the latter feels "the time has come that I get back to doing the other things that I do."

Randy Jackson is the only one left in the judging panel, but his fate remains unclear. It has been said that he might move to a mentoring role. A source recently said the music producer had been thinking for "a while now" that it might be time to leave, but he didn't rule out the possibility of returning "if they offer him the right deal."

Several names have surfaced in the last few days since people began speculating who might be the new judges. Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey and Adam Lambert have been mentioned as the top candidates, with Nicki Minaj and Stacy Ferguson a.k.a. Fergie reportedly being considered as well.

"American Idol" season 12 will premiere in early 2013 with Ryan Seacrest returning as the host.

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