As fans of American Idol will doubtless know, both Steve Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have quit their roles as judges ahead of the new series, and there’s even some speculation that long serving judge Randy Jackson may follow suit.

So, it’s fair to say there’s something of a scramble going on right now to line up a new judging panel, but according to TMZ today, there are no shortage of celebs who have their eye on an American Idol job, including veteran singer, 70 year old Aretha Franklin.

Apparently, Aretha sent an email to Fox this weekend saying, “Yes, I am interested as a judge.”

And of course, Aretha’s career in music goes back decades, and in her time, she’s won 18 Grammy awards and countless other accolades.

However, neither Freemantle Media – the makers of Idol – nor the Fox Network have as yet commented on whether they would be interested in recruiting Aretha…

Meanwhile, show insiders have told The Wrap that Fox executives Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly want to totally revamp the show after it experienced a huge fall in viewer ratings last season, and that Rice has reportedly told colleagues he wants an all new ‘Idol 2.0,’ with only host Ryan Seacrest returning out of all the old hands.

As to why Jennifer decided to quit, various media outlets have suggested over the weekend that it’s because the show’s bosses turned down her demand for an extra $2million to star in the new season. Which, given she was already on $15million, does seem kind of an excessive ask.

Are you sorry to see the judging panel changing? Or do you think it’ll breathe new life into the show?