» Idol Chatter: The blogosphere was a-twitter over the shake-up atAmerican Idol last week, speculating that Brad Paisley was considering a seat at the American Idol judges’ table. Now there's word that Toby Keith has already passed on the gig. He tells the Inland Empire Weekly thatAI contacted him earlier this month about joining the recently hired Mariah Carey. "He was flattered, but he did turn it down," his publicist tells us. A 22-week taping schedule would conflict with his tour plans, not to mention his golf game, the article says. As for Paisley, we reached out to both his publicist and label, with each claiming no knowledge of Idol's supposed overtures toward him.

Despite the denials, we hear meetings are set for this week to discuss the feasibility of meshing Paisley's touring and business schedule into the AI timeline. The show airs Jan.-May 2013, with auditions currently underway. We wonder if they can get it done so BP could make an appearance at the Aug. 12 AI auditions at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. For now, that's an open date on his tour schedule. We're also curious whether Paisley would wear his trademark cowboy hat on the show.