Nicki Minaj is in advanced negotiations to join Mariah Carey at the judges’ table on “American Idol” in January — a move that would be part of a show shake-up promised by a Fox honcho and exec producer Nigel Lythgoe.

“Is Nicki Minaj a star-maker?” the Associated Press wondered Monday afternoon when it joined the multitudes reporting that the hip-hop artist best known “for her colorful hairstyles, wardrobe and antics” — the AP’s music reporter did not list “singing” as being among those things for which she best known — would join the show.

But, of course, serious students of television know that the search for new judges on “Idol” has virtually nothing to do with the candidates’ ability to find star singers and everything to do with their ability to make noise and bag big ratings.

“Idol” finished the 2011-12 TV season as the country’s most popular non-football program — no small feat for a reality series in its 11th season. But it fell noticeably in the ratings last season — the first in which NBC’s “The Voice” and Fox’s own “X Factor” were added to the in-season prime-time mix — and it wound up with its smallest season-finale audience ever.

After Houston died while preparing to attend a Grammy pre-party, the trophy show got re-made and riddled with Houston tributes and “moments.” But the next morning, all the talk was of Minaj, who walked the red carpet accompanied by a man dressed to resemble the pope. Minaj performed her single on stage from a torture rack, while dressed in a long, weedy gown and cheap peroxide-blond wig, as guys dressed to look like monks sang “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Another guy dressed as an altar boy knelt in prayer between the legs of a female dancer, and a guy dressed as a bishop presided over the festivities. Minaj broke free of her bonds just in time for her big finish: a levitation.

No word Monday on whether the Minaj news has scared off Nick Jonas. Late last month, he tweeted that he is being considered as a new “Idol” judge, adding: “It would be a dream come true if it happens.”

Michael J. Fox to NBC

Michael J. Fox is going back to NBC — the network that made him a household name — for his return to comedy series TV.

Fox will play a husband and father of three from New York who’s dealing with family, career and challenges — including Parkinson’s disease — all loosely drawn from Fox’s real life.

NBC outbid other broadcast networks to land the new show by offering to commit to one full season’s worth of episodes, sight unseen.

Fox, who last appeared as a sitcom regular on ABC’s “Spin City” more than a decade ago, will star in the new comedy. Details about the show are scarce, except that it would be based on his personal family life.

Fox left “Spin City” after revealing publicly that he had received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s; he was replaced by Charlie Sheen on that show.