Mariah Carey has opened up about her stint as a judge on American Idol, joking that sitting beside pop rival Nicki Minaj was like "working with Satan".

The Hero hitmaker joined the popular talent show last year (12) and served as a judge and mentor to young hopefuls alongside Minaj, Keith Urban and producer Randy Jackson.

She admits she went into the show thinking it would be a lot of fun, but it quickly became a disaster when she fell out with the Starships hitmaker during the auditions.

Detailing the nightmare experience for the first time since her departure from the show in June (13) during a radio chat with New York's Hot 97 on Wednesday (13Nov13), she said, "Honestly, I hated it. I thought it was going to be a three-person panel. They gave me a nice dangling monetary moment, and I was just like, 'OK, Randy Jackson will be there; I've known him forever. He used to play bass for me. Like, this isn't a big deal. This will be nothing'.

"But it wasn't that. It was like going to work every day in hell with Satan."

Carey was quick to cover her tracks and added, "I'm just playing. It didn't affect me that much (but) I was disappointed."

She insists her time on the show wasn't completely wasted, because did enjoy watching Idol's young hopefuls blossom.

She added,"You know what I loved? I loved the contestants. And some of them that were so good - and also really good people, you could tell - it was disappointing when the judges would, for political reasons, not put people through."

While Carey is busy promoting her new single, The Art of Letting Go, Urban is returning to the judges' table with Harry Connick, Jr. and Jennifer Lopez for the upcoming 14th season of American Idol.