The Insider.com

It was just announced that John Legend has joined the mentor panel of ABC's new summer competition series, Duets.

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"I'm thrilled to be part of Duets and I’m looking forward to finding an undiscovered gem out there. This is going be a lot of fun, John said in a statement, which also touted that John -- along with Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thicke -- set out on a journey across America looking for undiscovered talent worthy of being their duet partners.

VIDEO - Watch Kelly Debut Two Duets Hopefuls

What the release is missing is an explanation for where original mentor Lionel Richie vanished to.

The Hello singer was prominently featured in this March trailer for the show and spoke about his participation last month, telling FoxNews.com that daughter Nicole Richie (currently judging Fashion Star) has been giving him advice on how to properly handle himself on live television.

Lionel's rep tells TheInsider.com that Lionel pulled out of the show due to personal scheduling conflicts.