Harry Connick Jr. in talks to fill 'American Idol' judge's seat, report says

Though Fox execs were eager to add a non-celebrity to "American Idol's" ever-rotating judge's table, Dr. Luke's last-minute decision to pull out of negotiations sent producers looking in other directions.

Television writers have been buzzing about Harry Connick Jr. since last spring, but several media reports indicated Wednesday that Fox had finally settled on the actor-singer as a complement to Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban.

Though Connick Jr. isn't exactly a big name with the younger generation of "American Idol" fans, producers are eager to please their key demographic of older women -- who didn't take to the constant bickering between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj last season.

“Well, yeah, I mean I had a really good time! I had a good time mentoring," Connick Jr. told Ellen DeGeneres when rumors began back in May. "Judging is a whole different deal; I don’t know how good I would be at that.”

Though there's no official word from Connick Jr.'s camp, the 45-year-old father of three gave E! News a hint of his judging style last May.

"I think you need to be completely honest, and I think you need to be diplomatic," he said. "I think there's no reason to be mean, but it is called being a 'judge.' You have to judge. That's what you do."