Singer Blige will be 'Idol' guest judge

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Singer Mary J. Blige will serve as a guest judge on "American Idol" for its upcoming ninth season, a source with the U.S. TV series says.

An unidentified show source said Blige, 38, will help judge "Idol" auditions in Atlanta with regular series judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, People.com reported Friday.

The source said singer Victoria Beckham was a guest judge for the Fox reality competition during auditions in Boston that ended Friday.

"The judges and production team have been having a lot of fun with Victoria," the source said. "She's had a great response so far, and has been really warm with the contestants."

The guest judges are taking the place of singer Paula Abdul, who left the series because of a contract dispute and has since been mentioned as a possible addition to ABC's "Dancing with the Series."