How convinced are you by Mariah Carey’s attempts to shrug off the allegations of a feud between her and Nicki Minaj on American Idol? Ever since it was announced that Nicki would be joining Mariah on the show’s judging panel, there have been rumours that the ‘Hero’ singer was not happy about the addition of Minaj to the show. She’s reported to have hung up the phone when she was told who her female colleague would be and after the first audition taping, sources told the press that Mariah disrespected Nicki by talking over her when she was trying to analyse the contestants’ performances.

In the press briefing before the auditions, one journalist asked if they were feuding. Mariah responded by explaining that the very nature of a ‘feud’ suggests that it’s been going on for a long time. “How we gonna feud in two days?” Mariah shot back at the journalist. What she didn’t do, though, is offer any kind words about Nicki. It seemed as though she was skirting around the subject, rather than tackling it head on or trying to quash the sense that there is a rivalry there. Of course, the show’s producers will have wanted just that: it’s the tantalising hope of a Nicki / Mariah bust-up that will keep viewers tuning in, after all.

What Mariah did do during the press conference, was to assert her wealth of experience over the relative newcomer Minaj, though and told the waiting press “That’s what I’m bringing to the table… Years of experience, working in the studio, writing songs, performing, you know, whatever. I mean, I just feel like, if anything, I just wanna help somebody along the way.” All those years of experience and chart topping Mariah Carey songs that Nicki simply doesn’t have, huh?