Mariah Carey's husband convinced her to join the American Idol panel.

The "Hero" singer admitted she was initially wary of taking a role on the judging panel of the pop star search show but America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon talked her into it.

"He really wanted me to do this. I had my own kind of reservations about it because I didn't know how I would adapt to the situation. It's a huge deal," she said.

However, Mariah admitted she would have hated to be a contestant on the show when she was first starting out: "I get really attached to certain people for different reasons whether it's their story or what it mainly is is talent. Sometimes I see myself in some of the contestants when I first started and I'm glad I didn't have to do a show like this. I would have hated it! It's been really fun. We're still in the beginning stages but I've learned a lot. I want to continue to be the best I can be in order to help contestants. It's that for me. I don't know if I have a judging style. I try to speak as frankly as possible, but as kindly as possible not sugar coating the whole thing because that does nobody any good and that's boring to watch."