AceShowbiz -

Harry Connick Jr. has responded to Mariah Carey's comment that compared "American Idol" to hell. After the R&B diva opened up about her experience working on the show last season, the new judge which joins the show for the upcoming 13th installment tweeted, "@MariahCarey - Must've been hard to judge in hell. Idol XIII: Welcome to heaven!"

Careful not to offend the "#Beautiful" songstress, the former "Will & Grace" star quickly added, "I LOVE @MariahCarey!!! no hate for that sweet lady - i just feel bad that she didn't have what we have - the best @AmericanIdol ever!"

Carey earlier told Hot 97's Angie Martinez during a radio interview that she "hated" being on "Idol". "I thought it was going to be a three-person panel. They gave me a nice dangling monetary moment, and I was just like, 'Okay. 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," she said without mentioning whom she compared to Satan.

It's, however, widely believed that Carey was referring to fellow former judge Nicki Minaj, with whom she had a highly-publicized feud during their judging stint in season 12. She later downplayed her initial comments, saying, "Naw, I'm just playing. It didn't affect me that much."

With Keith Urban returning and Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez in place of the exiting judges, the judging panel of season 13 will likely be more cheerful. Urban said in September, "I think this season of 'Idol' is gonna be a blast. New team, new energy, and a whole new field of artists to be discovered and given a chance!"

"Idol" season 13 will premiere January 15 on FOX. The show has just debuted new ads which highlight the real contestants and their motivation for joining the reality singing competition series.

"American Idol" season 13 ads: