American Idol has Shania Twain lined up if Jennifer Lopez doesn’t come to her senses?

[HMG] – We reported on Wednesday that the suits at Fox and American Idol were in talks with Jennifer Lopez about replacing Ellen DeGeneres now she’s leaving. Reports then claimed the deal was dead, but it’s not. But if it does fail, Idol’s next choice is Shania Twain.

Every female singer in Hollywood has proclaimed an interest in taking Ellen’s place, but J-Lo is thought to be unlikely to land it as she’s been so demanding. But Shania’s work for Idol in Chicago last season makes her a big favorite at Fox;

“They’ve been after her ever since,” a source told TMZ. “And they haven’t given up. Shania’s a huge fan of the show and she had a great time as a mentor.”

Another potential replacement is Mariah Carey. Her husband, Nick Cannon, says she’s also got her eyes on the high-profile job.

“She says ‘I would love to do that.’” says Nick. “She is a great singer, so she’d be good at it.”

And that’s probably true…Until her demands made J.Lo’s look like a Post-It note.

But one fly in the mix is Aerosmith’s vocal front-man, Steven Tyler. He’s telling everyone he’s already got the seat next to Randy Jackson…But has he?

“I’m very judgmental of the guys in the band.” he told scribes at the Post. “I think I’d bring credibility to that forum if I was asked to do it.”

So he claims to already have the job nailed…then says he’d be perfect if he got it. Huh??

Whatever the true situation, this whole circus is keeping Idol’s name in the press – and you can bet Simon Cowell’s just loving that. Especially with this season’s bad ratings.

When the suits at Fox finally pick a replacement we’ll bring you the update at once…