Harry Connick Jr. has been approached to judge the next season of "American Idol" — or so he says.
E! Online reports that the musician and actor confirmed backstage during Thursday's results show that he's been approached for the gig before, too.
This despite the fact that he got into a tussle with the other judges — especially Randy Jackson — on the Wednesday night performance show over his complaint that the contestants weren't just sticking to the melodies when they performed old standards.
As the week's musical mentor, he had implored the top four to stop all the runs in classics like "Stormy Weather," and when they didn't listen, the judges applauded them. Connick was notably perturbed — returning on Thursday night to warble — without any vocal runs — the title tune from his new album, "Every Man Should Know."
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The bestselling artist also mentored during Season 9, as well, which is when he was first eyed by producers to join Randy Jackson in judging contestants.
"It's been talked about before, who knows what'll happen in the future," he reportedly said on Thursday night. "You know, they kinda wanted to know if I would be interested in it."
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"The last time I was here, I was so flattered that they were kind of talking about it," he said. "And it didn't work out. There were a lot of things going on on their side and a lot of things going on on my side with just stuff. It's hard to make a commitment like that."
Although he is speaking openly about being asked to be the next music star to rejuvenate the continually rotating judging panel, doesn't necessarily mean he actually has the time to do it.
"I'm going on tour this year so, like, when would I do it?" he added. "It's that kind of thing."
And it's not always about timing either. Big stars, like Jennifer Lopez for example, want big money. So how much would it cost "American Idol" to sign Grammy-winner Mr. Connick?
"$600 million," he joked.
Connick's rep has yet to respond to TheWrap's request for comment, while Fox had "no comment."