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Mariah Carey “Hated” American Idol: “It Was Like Going to Work Every Day in Hell With Satan”

Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj on American Idol
Mariah Carey says being on American Idol (with Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson) was like "going to work every day in hell with Satan"

Mariah Carey could not be happier to put American Idol behind her. The "Art of Letting Go" singer — who served one season as a judge on the Fox musical competition, alongside Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson, and Keith Urban — had some choice words about the show during an interview with Hot 97's Angie Martinez on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Related: PHOTOS: The biggest celeb feuds ever

"Honestly, I hated it," she confessed. "Here's what it was. I was the first person who signed on…I thought it was going to be a three-person panel. They gave me a nice…monetary moment, and I was just like, 'Okay, Randy Jackson will be there; I've known him forever. He used to play bass for me. Like, this isn't a big deal. This will be nothing.'"

"But it wasn't that," she continued. "It was like going to work every day in hell with Satan." 

Related: PHOTOS: Idol judges, then and now

Carey didn't specify which of her fellow judges might be the devil, but it's no secret that she clashed with Minaj throughout the season. The two got into several very heated debates during the audition process and occasionally took their feud online. In May, the "Roman Holiday" rapper bashed the Grammy-winning singer as "insecure" and "bitter" on Twitter. 

Related: PHOTOS: Mariah's romance with Nick Cannon

There was one bright spot in Carey's Idol experience, though. "You know what I loved? I loved the contestants," she told Martinez. "And some of them that were so good — and also really good people, you could tell — it was disappointing when [the judges] would, for political reasons, not put people through."

The mom of two added that she's happy to be back where she belongs — in the studio. Neither she nor Minaj will return to American Idol for season 13.

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