Reality Star Paychecks: Prepare To Be Amazed Photo credit: Image Collect 2. Mariah Carey The singer turned reality TV star, hosted American Idol for only one season before moving on to bigger and better ventures. She was reportedly paid $18 million or approximately $486,486 per episode. Too bad she didn’t stick around; that’s not a shabby pay day! Prev2 of 16Next Facebook Comments comments