AMERICAN Idol producers are trying to woo Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder to be guest judges for upcoming episodes – possibly next season.

“Those producers have been after them for a while,” a music industry source said last night.

And despite a recent illness, Barry Manilow is expected to appear on the show as a judge on episodes airing on April 19 and 20, according to Billboard.com. The episodes will feature the contestants performing Manilow songs, and Manilow himself is expected sing on the April 20 edition.

Fox officials declined to confirm if Manilow, McCartney or Wonder would participate in future episodes of “Idol.”

All this serves to further irk curmudgeonly judge Simon Cowell, who’s said in the past that he doesn’t like having celebrity judges on the show.

In the past, music industry icons like Neil Sedaka, Olivia Newton John, Lionel Richie, Gladys Night, Smokey Robinson and Robin Gibb have appeared on the show as guest judges.

“American Idol” is currently the highest-rated entertainment show on TV, averaging more than 27 million viewers per episode each week.