The former Idol judge will return to the Idol stage later this month for a performance during the show’s finale.
According to E!, Lopez will return to Idol for the first time since ending her two-year stint last year as judge alongside current judge Randy Jackson and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
No news yet on which night of the finale (May 15 and 16) Lopez will take the stage, but she is likely to perform her upcoming single “Live It Up,” featuring Pitbull, which will be released on May 8.
Rumors were swirling last week of a secret plan Idol producers had hatched, trying to replace struggling judge Mariah Carey with Lopez in the middle of Carey’s first season, but those rumors were later shot down by Idol reps. There are still talks of Carey, fellow judge Nicki Minaj, or possibly this season’s entire judges’ panel being replaced before next season.
Idol has really been hurting for ratings, recently having been beaten in the ratings by ABC’s drama Scandal, as well as a repeat of The Big Bang Theory. Hopefully Lopez’s return will give them the boost they need, but will it be too little too late?