Official: Harry Connick Jr. Will Be Third AMERICAN IDOL Judge

Harry Connick Jr., who mentored on the last season of AMERICAN IDOL, will officially take the third judge's seat alongside Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez this season on FOX.

For the original article, head on over to The Hollywood Reporter.

Connick, Jr., is finalizing his deal just after Dr. Luke, who had almost agreed to the job, dropped out of negotiations last week because of a conflict with his label. Connick, Jr., Urban and Lopez are replacing exiting panelists Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.

In May, the Broadway vet appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show and commented on the possibility of judging. "Well, yeah, I mean I had a really good time!," he shared. "I had a good time mentoring. Judging is a whole different deal, I don't know how good I would be at that."

In addition to his recent starring role in the Broadway revival of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever the actor returned to Broadway during the summer of 2010 for 15 sold-out performances of Harry Connick, Jr. In Concert at the Neil Simon Theatre. His previous Broadway performances include the Tony-nominated turn as Sid Sorokin in the 2006 revival of The Pajama Game.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride