And as the bad news emerged, Mariah Carey jetted out of Los Angeles for a getaway with her husband Nick Cannon and their two children, Morocco and Monroe, on Thursday night.
The 43-year-old, who just celebrated her birthday, tweeted a picture of herself boarding her private jet.
Jetting off: Mariah Carey jetted out of Los
Angeles via private jet on Thursday night with her family after it
emerged that American Idol ratings hit an all time low
'Going on a lil vacation with Nick & Dembabies! ?' she wrote in an accompanying caption.
It appears that Mariah is taking an Easter break with her family before she heads back to the Idol set next week.
Easter break? Fellow judge Keith Urban was also spotted leaving Los
Angeles on Thursday night, travelling to London with his two children,
Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret
Suffering: This week's episode of American Idol only managed to garner 3.2 million
viewers in the key demo and 12.3 million viewers in total, according to
The Hollywood Reporter
The two judges' great escape comes after Idol ratings dropped to an all time low this week.
While ratings for the show have already been flailing, on Wednesday the show only managed to garner 3.2 million viewers in the key demo and 12.3 million viewers in total, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It was a particularly low rating in the key 18-49 age gap, with only 2.7 million viewers.
While the ratings hit is not good news, the reality TV contest is still a 'top ten' show, Brad Adgate of media-buying firm Horizon Media told Billboard.com.
Debut: The Voice had higher ratings during it's Monday night premiere featuring Shakira and Usher as new mentors
'Compared to several years ago, it's not the ratings force it once was ... But even if it loses 20 percent' he said.
The ratings drop is also affected by the show's competition, including The Voice, which currently features Shakira, Usher, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton as mentors.
This week's premiere on Monday night garnered a 4.7 rating in the demo and 13.4 million total viewers, which was significantly higher than Idol.
However, it was still behind the premiere of Season 12 of Idol, which drew a whopping 6.0 rating and 17.9 million viewers.
Despite Idol's high premiere figures, it was still down 19 percent and down four million total viewers from the hit show's Season 11's premiere.
New format: Shakira and Usher are temporarily filling in on the panel for Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo Green