'American Idol' Runner-Up Kree Harrison Spills On Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj Drama

If viewers felt the much-hyped tension between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey during this past season of "American Idol," it didn't translate to the contestants in the studio. And, season 12 runner-up, Kree Harrison, explains just what it was like to compete during a season filled with Carey and Minaj trying to proclaim their queen-bee status with the cameras rolling.

"First of all, there's so much going on, the drama of whatever happens on or off camera, there's literally, it's chaos during the live show," Harrison told on Monday, just days after Candice Glover was crowned this season's winner. "So you don't pay any attention to anything but where you're supposed to be. I mean, I love Nicki; I love Mariah. We would get a kick out of [the fact that] they would talk to each other at all. So whether it was good or bad, we liked it. I'm a big fan of all of them."

And, if you're looking for some juicy tidbits about cat fights backstage, Harrison shares she just didn't see anything like that. "I mean I didn't really see a whole lot of anything. You literally go off stage and you're on to the next thing," she said. "They're not any different than they are on camera, off camera. I would honestly say that the good part about it was that they were all so different. So they brought such a cool thing to us and I like each one of them. There was never any drama, we feel, like that we saw. We lived in a bubble for a while."

Well, with the show behind her, Harrison is looking forward to her post-"Idol" career and seeing who might end up on the judging panel next season. "Idol" vet Randy Jackson is out, and the fate of Minaj, Carey and Keith Urban is still undecided. Harrison hopes that the next crop of hopefuls might get the chance to work with those remaining three judges.

"I mean I loved watching all of them together," she said. "I don't know who the fourth judge would be if they kept those three. I have to say I'm really thankful that I got to be a part of Randy's last season 'cause I love him," she said. "Getting to play with him on the finale was amazing. He's a really cool guy."

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.