The original American Idol is the latest person scheduled to fill in for departed fourth judge Paula Abdul at the second round of auditions for the show—and in a twist, she’ll reportedly be joined by Disney-bred heartthrob Joe Jonas on the panel. The two of them will follow in the footsteps of Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, Mary J. Blige, and Shania Twain; there are also rumors that Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez will pass judgment on the hopefuls at future second-round dates. (Yes, that Jennifer Lopez. Yes, she is apparently judging the singing portion of the competition, and not the “potential for brand diversification” segment. No, I don’t know why either.) [LAT] MORE »
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idolator's american idolatry
Kelly Clarkson To Show “Idol” Hopefuls How It’s Done
idolator's american idolatry
Adam Lambert Apparently Dressing Up Like The Michelin Man For His Album Cover
The site went kerblooey before I could post this shot that was allegedly taken at the photo shoot for American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert’s album cover yesterday, so apologies for its tardiness. But really, there’s still so much to unpack, even a day later! Is this how Idol’s aesthetically challenged cover people “do” Lady GaGa? Is all this shot a peek at the campaign for Glambert’s second life as the host of the hybrid singing/cooking competition Michelin Star? And why, whenever I see the words “Swarovski crystal,” do I roll my eyes and flash back to the worst aspects of this can’t-end-fast-enough decade? [Towleroad] MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Just What “American Idol” Needed: More Drama
After flying Victoria Beckham to Boston so she could once again fill American Idol’s fourth judge’s chair for the second round of auditions there, the show’s producers have decided to switch things up for Round Two in Atlanta: Frequent Idol cover-ee Mary J. Blige will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi and take over Paula Abdul’s spot. (And lest you think that reports of Beckham being “icy and wooden” during judging led to her getting the heave-ho, a mole inside the show has said that Posh was actually “warm with the contestants.” Good old People, always allowing the celebrity-industrial complex to stay on-message!) [People] MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Posh Spice Apparently Lacking The Bubbly Personality Of Paula Abdul
Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham sat in the American Idol judges’ chair formerly occupied by the departed Paula Abdul during last week’s second round of auditions in Denver, and anonymous meanies had their knives out: “It didn’t go too well,” a tipster told Radar. “She tried to hard to be ‘nice,’ but came off as icy and wooden.” And this is different from her Posh Spice persona how? I mean, come on. It’s not like we’re talking about one of the outgoing Spice Girls here! Tell me that Geri Haliwell was “icy” and I’d be surprised. MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Should Presidential-nominee spawn Meghan McCain occupy the guest judge’s chair on American Idol this season? Two signs that the answer is “no”: One, she says that the Republicans’ messaging is “a little pitchy, dawg”; and two, she refers to Kris Allen’s “Heartless” cover as a “country version.” OK, OK, so her music taste isn’t totally terrible, but still! [Mediaite / Pic via McCain Blogette] MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Five Female Pop Stars Who Should Definitely Not Fill Paula Abdul’s “American Idol” Chair
Fox today outlined its plans for replacing Paula Abdul at the American Idol judges’ table, and somewhat unfortunately, they involve retaining the four-judge panel that was instituted on the show last year. The show is going to bring in guest judges! “Our intention is to have guest judges be female pop stars, female performers,” Fox Entertainment chair Peter Rice said. Signed for next season so far: A & R expert Katy Perry and tabloid fixture Victoria Beckham. Even though Beckham is more known for her stick-thin figure and the clothes she hangs on it these days, she was a Spice Girl, right? Uh, sure. Any Idol watcher knows that Fox will likely make some sort of misstep in selecting other people to round out the panel; as a sort of pre-emptive strike against that, we offer up five female pop stars whose presence would make the new-look Idol judges’ table even more farcical than it already is. MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Four Possible Scenarios Resulting From Paula Abdul’s “American Idol” Departure
Last night, Paula Abdul announced via Twitter that she wouldn’t be returning to American Idol to elliptically critique its singing hopefuls, a missive that was confirmed by Fox shortly after Abdul’s 140-character send-off went live. “I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day1become an international phenomenon,” Abdul typed; “While Paula will not be continuing with us, she’s a tremendous talent and we wish her the best,” replied Fox. (Idol host Ryan Seacrest, for his part, told his Twitter followers he was “shocked and saddened.”) So what does this mean for the show, which is creaking into its ninth season with declining ratings, an increased sense of self-aggrandizement, and—now—a little less spunk? Four outcomes for this season, after the jump. MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Oh Boy, Kara Is Returning To “American Idol”
In news that will probably thrill people who feel that network TV needs more incoherent, self-serving screeching, E!’s Marc Malkin is reporting that Kara DioGuardi has signed a deal to return to the televised talent competition for its ninth season. This news got me thinking about poor old Paula Abdul, who’s been publicly tussling over her contract with the show’s producers. Which is pretty annoying, since her comments to the show’s hopefuls, while completely undiagrammable as sentences, are actually pretty useful when you compare them to the endless streams of “dawgs” uttered by Randy Jackson and DioGuardi’s self-aggrandizing sing-offs. This calls for a poll, I think: Which member of the American Idol cast is the weakest link? Let’s go to the ballot box! MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
“American Idol” Auditions Inspire Much Blogging About Everyone Else’s Outsized Egos
Well-compensated American Idol host Ryan Seacrest is at the show’s tryouts in Denver today, and he let a somewhat surprising factoid about this year’s auditions slip via Twitter: The most popular song at this year’s cattle calls has been Miley Cyrus’ pseudo-inspirational bit of jangle-pop “The Climb,” even though it seems like it would be somewhat unfriendly to the showboating that traditionally gets contestants through to the pre-Hollywood round. (Would Miley get through a “singing competition,” ever? I ask you.) Anyway, to see if this claim bore out, I did a little digging through the blogs of people who have tried out for Idol in the past few weeks, and while I didn’t see a lot of Miley name-dropping, I did notice a common theme! MORE »
idolator's american idolatry
Ryan Seacrest: Still Overemployed, Now Even Richer Than You
So what if it’s a recession? Who cares if the ratings for American Idol have been in a slow decline, while its demographic numbers have been inching ever-so-slowly up? The producers of Idol don’t seem to mind! Host Ryan Seacrest has just re-upped his pact with the show for three more seasons, and he’s cashed in big, signing what the Hollywood Reporter is saying may be the biggest-money deal for a reality show host of all time. MORE »
