American Idol is going to need two replacement judges. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler announced this week that they're leaving American Idol.
On Friday, Jennifer Lopez spoke to Ryan Seacrest on his radio show and revealed that she will be leaving the popular televised singing competition American Idol. After a long decision, Lopez said "I am thinking that maybe it's time for me to go and do the other things that I love to do."
The decision wasn't an easy one for Lopez. "I really have been torn," she told Seacrest. She was feeling the pressure of having to balance out films, her music, and her responsibilities for her growing children. "I honestly feel like the time has come that I have to get back to doing the other things that I do that I've put on hold because I love Idol so much.
"You have a lot of other responsibilities and you have a lot of other things that you do and you have to pay attention to that too. I could keep doing Idol the rest of my life but that would be giving up a bunch of other things and I feel like we had an amazing run" Lopez said.
Lopez said that leaving American Idol after two seasons is going to be hard to do. She has grown to love her Idol family "I've never felt so much part of a family of something working on it as I did with idol," Lopez said. "It's just one of those special things in your life that you don't want to walk away from," she added.
Seacrest, the host of American Idol, also expressed his sadness over Lopez's departure. "I want to say that for me, I'm sad as the host of the show and im sad as a friend of yours because I won't see you nearly as much but I understand you've got to do what's best for you and your family," he told her.
Lopez also discussed the movie Ice Age: Continental Drift. Lopez is the voice of the saber-toothed tiger Shira in the animated movie. The movie hits theaters Friday, July 13.
Lopez isn't the only one leaving the show. On Thursday, host Steven Tyler announced that he will be leaving after two years on the show. The singer wants to reunite and focus on his band Aerosmith.
"After some long...hard...thoughts...I've decided it's time for me to let go of my mistress 'American Idol' before she boils my rabbit," Tyler said. "I strayed from my first love, AEROSMITH, and I'm back - but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I've got two fists in the air and I'm kicking the door open with my band. The next few years are going to be dedicated to kicking some serious ass - the ultimate in auditory takeover..." Tyler told Fox.
A factor that play a role in Lopez and Tyler's departure is that the show hasn't been doing well. The New York Times reports that she show's viewership declined about 30 percent.
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