Idolator: Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul Thinks The World (Or, Really, Simon Cowell) Is Out To Get Her

Maura Johnston — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:30:00 EST

Paula Abdul has been making the talk-show rounds and talking about the suicide of former American Idol contestant Paula Goodspeed outside her California home last month, and how she hasn't slept at home since Goodspeed's death. But last night on Barbra Walters' radio show, Abdul called in and went off, saying that American Idol's producers, as well as Simon Cowell, went against her wishes by putting Goodspeed—who had been obsessed with Abdul for 17 years—in the "funny" first weeks of the season, and that because of that editing they basically knew that last month's tragedy was going to happen, and that it would make Abdul look bad and eventually pave her way out of the judge's chair. So, uh, anyone psyched for the first live episodes next season? Should be a doozy! [via Jezebel]

How Are The "American Idol" Producers Going To React To Paula Goodspeed?

Maura Johnston — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST

One thing the people behind American Idol have counted on in the past is the ratings racked up by the early-in-the-season audition episodes, which devote just as much airtime to the biggest sets of pipes as they do to those hopeless hopefuls who seem to aspire to become nothing more than the next William Hung. But one wonders if the news that a former contestant on the show—one who had three minutes of airtime during Season Five devoted to her slightly manic Paula Abdul fandom and her not-all-that-great rendition of "Proud Mary"—committed suicide outside Abdul's home yesterday isn't going to give the producers at least a little bit of a pause when they start editing the audition episodes for next season's first episodes, which start back up on Jan. 13.

Thanks to the Internet, Paula Goodspeed's audition package is still around:

Without the horrible context of the past 24 hours, Goodspeed's appearance seems like your boilerplate bad Idol audition: Overconfident singer, barbs from Simon, really bad vocal performance, sorta-snarky Ryan Seacrest kicker. (Simon Cowell's jokes about her braces may be a bit over-the-top, but they're nowhere near the "bush baby" bit he would drop a year later.) But you have to wonder if, given that Idol's audition numbers were down this year and ratings on the show have been dropping in general, the producers were planning on filling more airtime with "funny" bits like the one above. Are the antics of Alexis Cohen going to be funny to a viewing public that spent at least an hour at work searching for Goodspeed's MySpace page, on which she claimed that Paula Abdul was her secret crush?

Paula Abdul fanatic Paula Godspeed found dead near singer's home [NY Daily News]
Paula Goodspeed - Proud Mary [Dailymotion]

Great Moments In Pop Videos Ripping Off Other People's Choreography

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Perhaps you've heard about the brouhaha over Beyonce's new video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," the choreography of which is a leeeeetle too close to the steps from Bob Fosse's "Mexican Breakfast"—a viral video fave thanks to a dub-over of DJ Unk's "Walk It Out"—for some folks' comfort. Apparently putting a song over existing video is creative, while remaking the video's particulars for a new song isn't, or something, though I am grateful that one blogger was moved to accuse B of "straight up pull[ing] a Kenley" (A+).

Indeed, the resemblance is pretty obvious. Yet the thing no one mentions is how much Fosse's original looks like something Motown choreographer Cholly Atkins came up with while feeling especially frisky one day. And, of course, paying homage to Fosse in music videos is nothing new; the David Fincher-directed clip for Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted,", for example, paid sweaty tribute to All That Jazz 19 years ago, and Christina Aguilera returned the favor in 1999.

Still, in the interest of science we found this very handy list of music videos that paid tribute to musical numbers, movie sequences, etc. The most obvious mentions are Madonna's various homages—to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in "Material Girl," to Metropolis in "Express Yourself," et. al.—but we have one of our own we'd like to offer. Surely these modern-day disco heroes:

have heard of these golden-age disco heroes:

Earlier: Bionic Beyonce Tries To Jump-Start A New Dance Craze

"American Idol" Hopefuls To Be Judged By Former Dave Stewart Collaborator

Maura Johnston — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Alas, I'm not talking about Annie Lennox. In an effort to bring what a Fox exec calls more "girl power" to the show, the judges' table for the next season of American Idol will now have a Coke cup for songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who's shared writing credits on songs including Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" and Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away" and collaborated with Stewart on the pseudo-retro project Platinum Weird. DioGuardi, who Idol head honcho Simon Fuller called "a smart, sassy lady," is being billed as the show's fourth judge, which I guess means either that the judges' table will be widened or Paula Abdul will get some time off to "rest" now and again. (One producer claims that Idol was always supposed to have four judges, although it seems strange to me that it took the executives this long to find someone who wanted the gig.) A few highlights of DioGuardi's career after the jump.

Platinum Weird - "Taking Chances"

That's DioGuardi on lead vocals.

Kelly Clarkson - "Walk Away"

This video perfectly captures my reaction to this track.

Hilary Duff - With Love

Ashlee Simpson - La La

Time has not been kind to this track. (Christ, her voice.)

Katharine McPhee - "Love Story"

A song that deserved better. At least McPhee's Idol appearance helped kickstart her acting career, right?

Lindsay Lohan - "Confessions Of A Broken Heart"

I wonder if this means this year will have "Inappropriate Overshare Week."

Celine Dion - "Taking Chances"

Does this mean we're going to have a Celine Dion mentor week? Dare to dream.

GRAMMY-NOMINATED SONGWRITER KARA DIOGUARDI JOINS PAULA ABDUL, SIMON COWELL AND RANDY JACKSON AS JUDGE ON "AMERICAN IDOL" [Press release via The Futon Critic]

The 29 Seconds That Are Supposed To Make Everyone Feel Better About "American Idol"

Maura Johnston — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:15:00 EDT

For those of you who are curious, the "rumors" Ryan is obliquely referring to as being untrue aren't about Paula being into field hockey players. Nor are they about Paula using the rehearsals to guide her later critiques, since she admitted that she does engage in that practice yesterday:

On Wednesday, during his daily radio show on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, Mr. Seacrest said that Nigel Lythgoe, an executive producer of "Idol," informed him of the change as the fifth contestant, Syesha Mercado, was performing her first song, only seconds before he was to query the judges.
When Mr. Seacrest asked Ms. Abdul for her comments, she offered her critique on Jason Castro's "first song," "Forever in Blue Jeans," then added: "The second song, I felt like your usual charm, it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty. And the two songs, it made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the Top 4."

As Mr. Seacrest anxiously glanced offstage for help, Mr. Jackson, beside Ms. Abdul at the judges' table, gently prompted her to make comments "just on the first one." Confused, Ms. Abdul said to Mr. Castro, "I thought you sang twice." After realizing what had occurred, she then explained that she got her notes mixed up and had meant her comments to be about the next singer, David Cook. But instead of repeating that she thought Mr. Cook had given an uninspired performance, she told him, "You were fantastic."

Attempting on Wednesday to explain her misstep, Ms. Abdul spoke on Mr. Seacrest's radio show and said she had seen Mr. Castro's rehearsal of his second song as she was bringing in a friend to the dress rehearsal audience.

When Mr. Lythgoe changed the format, she hurriedly made further notes, she said, mixing up Mr. Castro's live performance with the rehearsal that she remembered.

My takeaway from this explanation: Like so much else that's been wrong with this season, it's Nigel's fault. So what were the rumors, anyway? Oh, just that Paula might have had a pre-show cocktail on Tuesday afternoon that might have addled her judgment—apparently TMZ first broke the "story," only to hit "unpublish" on the offending post once threatened with legal action from Paula's people. Surely I'm not alone in hoping that this little chink being revealed in their armor results in a flood of lawsuits sent their way, thus striking a blow for literacy and non-idiocy once and for all. (Dream big, my mom always said.)

'Idol' Judge Admits Rehearsal Guided Her [NYT]
Ryan talks about Paula being drunk [Redlasso via MJ's Big Blog]

Seven Videos That Got Away From Me During Blogging Hours

Maura Johnston — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:00:00 EDT

It's the last day of the month, a time for desk-clearing and "to do" list-finalizing and, in the case of April 2008, celebrating that a pretty horrible 30-day stretch is near its end. With that in mind, I'm going to use the last posting day of each month for "Rule Of Sevens," in which I put together a couple of seven-item, mostly-commentary-free lists—from aborted post topics to my current best-of-the-year rundowns—for your reading pleasure. In the first installment, please enjoy these seven videos that I really wanted to post on various days during April, but didn't, for reasons ranging from "I got distracted and watched it five times in a row instead" to "All I can really say about this song is 'it's awesome and you should listen to it now.'"

1. Unrest, "Make Out Club"

(It's not just a pop gem, it's also the inspiration for the name of one of the first indie-rock social networks.)

2. Paula Abdul, "Straight Up"

(This was on VH1 Classic during my red-eye back from California Monday night. Idol looniness aside, this song is still terrific.)

3. Motley Crue - Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)

(I always felt like this song never got its due, in part because it was always overshadowed by the way inferior "Sam Ol' Situation." Pro: the rolling bass line in its intro. Con: The dumb "Too Young To Fall In Love" reference. Actually most of the lyrics are not that great.)

4. Expose - Let Me Be The One

(This may be one of my all-time summer jams. I always take it out of storage when the temperature creeps over 65.)

5. Ida Maria, "Oh My God"

(Right, I know, I'm cheating because I posted this already. But this song is worth checking out if you missed it the first time. And for those of you who want to hear a different version of it, here's the band on Later With Jools Holland.)

6. Toto, "Hold The Line"

(Blame the ad buyer at the Mets' TV network who sold a package that included lots of Mohegan Sun ads soundtracked to this song.)

7. Cyndi Lauper, "She Bop"

(This video's coyness makes me lament the days before MTV's standards and practices department allowed overly blatant masturbation references to sluice through every programming hour.)

"American Idol" Fix Exposed?

Maura Johnston — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:45:07 EDT

Paula Abdul's stupor may have pulled back the curtain on the plot to destroy Jason Castro tonight—it was the first night that the contestants sang two songs each, so they ran through all their initial performances, then came out to be judged at the end of the first half-hour. And Paula used this opportunity to tell Jason, who went first, that while she liked the use of his lower vocal register on "Forever In Blue Jeans," his second song "felt like your usual charm was missing for me... it left me a little empty. The two songs made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four." But he only performed one song! Apparently those second-song comments were meant for David Cook—but then when Paula "recovered" to give Cookie her critique, he said that he was "fantastic," and that the only problem with his performance was that the song wasn't as well-known as other picks from the night. And the producers can't figure out why the ratings are down this season? Between this and the fact that David Archuleta could have an on-stage vocal cord hemorrhage and still be called "the bomb" by Randy, I think any sentient being can know that there's at least some sort of "desired outcome" that's been communicated to the judges by Nigel Lythgoe's camp.

Generally the word "plotting" is a sure sign ...

Dick Malone — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:45:15 EST

Generally the word "plotting" is a sure sign of music-writer hackdom, but when it concerns Paula Abdul's comeback album, it is le mot juste. [Billboard]

So it turns out that the video for Paula ...

Jess Harvell — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST

So it turns out that the video for Paula Abdul's new single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" has actually not been "rejected" by MTV. MTV will actually break Paula's heart on Monday, unless the network decides to be perverse/spite a gun-jumping blogosphere. [MTV]

Paula Abdul's New Video Has No Tomorrow On MTV

Maura Johnston — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:30:09 EST

Dear OK!: If you're surprised that MTV has decided to not put Paula Abdul's video for "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" on their playlist, you are probably not so good at things like basic music-industry math, either. Let's add up the numbers: Paula Abdul is 45; MTV's median viewer age is somewhere around 21 or 22; MTV's music-related airtime makes up about 4.5% of its broadcast day; and the channel's current playlist consists of about 15-20 videos. (If that.) And really, this MTV "snub" is nothing more than a tempest in an old-paradigm teapot: Given that a single American Idol spin of the clip resulted in "Dance" experiencing a 559% digital-sales gain this week—numbers that you probably wouldn't see after a few scattered plays at 3 a.m. on weekdays—shouldn't she start lobbying 19 Entertainment for increased airtime on her home turf, instead? [OK! / YouTube]

Paula Abdul brings her kooky comments about ...

Maura Johnston — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:15:28 EST

Paula Abdul brings her kooky comments about American Idol's contestant base to the wires of the Associated Press: "If they hadn't already tried to make a name for themselves, then they don't deserve to be in (the) competition," she told the AP as she tried to defend the major-label pasts of Carly Hennessy and Kristy Lee Cook. Which sort of reads like her saying that only those groomed from birth for stahhdom should even bother showing up at Idol tryouts at this point. Perhaps she should just stick to the color-association game for future media days? [AP]

Paula Abdul Is Not Really Making Her New Single Her Own

Maura Johnston — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:00:49 EST

ARTIST: Paula Abdul
TITLE: "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow"
WEB DEBUT: Jan. 18, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: In a dizzying bit of American Idol synergy, Paula Abdul's new single—which will appear on the forthcoming Randy Jackson album, and be performed on the FOX-broadcasted Super Bowl that will also feature Jordin Sparks—aired on Ryan Seacrest's morning show today, although the only thing that made me aware that said song was by Paula Abdul, and not some other ProTooled chippy, was the link that I followed to the MP3. Mind you, the music is straight out of the Forever Your Girl era, with big kickdrums and synthed-out strings. But the vocals! I had FYG on cassette, and part of its charm was the fact that Paula Abdul's—or Yvette Marine's—vocals weren't all that good, cracking all over the place and generally sounding like they came from the pipes of a highly trained choreographer. "Tomorrow" pours pitch-correction margarine all over that, making this song sound like it was plucked from JoJo's catalog. And it doesn't help that the lyrics are your most generic "I'm in the club and I'm famous" treacle, instead of the poison-pen letter to Simon that the whole world really wants to hear. This track wouldn't even make it on the Katharine McPhee B-sides collection, and that's saying a lot.

Paula Abdul - Dance Like There's No Tomorrow [New Song!] [Kevipod Music]
[Pic via ONTD]

Fox is apparently very very serious about ...

mjohnston — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:00:32 EST

Fox is apparently very very serious about turning Super Bowl XLII into the most-watched American Idol commercial ever. Not only is Jordin Sparks going to have her now with the national anthem, rumor has it that Paula Abdul is going to sing sometime during the telecast—and the song she'll be performing will be off Randy Jackson's duets album. So how is Tom Petty going to fit into all of this Idol cross-promotion, a reprise of the "Free Fallin'" duet he did at the 1989 VMAs, only with Clay Aiken in the Axl Rose slot? Hey, it is Fox, after all. [TV Guide]

The "American Idol" Finale Just Got 110% More Interesting

mjohnston — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:30:14 EDT

Oh, Paula:

A spokesperson for Paula Abdul confirmed to "Extra" that over the weekend, Abdul tripped trying to avoid her Chihuahua, Tulip.

As a result of the fall, the "American Idol" judge broke her nose.

The spokesperson told "Extra" that contrary to reports, Paula was not hospitalized.

No word on what she's been prescribed in order to deal with the pain. Seriously, though, this has to be a ratings ploy for tomorrow night's show, right? Right?

Paula Abdul Breaks Her Nose [Extra, via Idol Chatter]
[Photo via Reality TV Magazine]

The Paula Abdul Out-Of-It Scale Now Has A New, Much Higher Benchmark

mjohnston — Wed, 16 May 2007 13:50:46 EDT

It's only 22 seconds long, but Paula Abdul manages to cram more crazy in this clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live than she has in the past four American Idol episodes combined. The "fried cat and dog on the rotisserie," the Woody Woodpecker laugh, the mapping out of a "bullet train bus" route with her hands—no amount of Simon Cowell hair-pulling has ever elicited this sort of unhingedness, and he's probably seething with jealousy over that fact right now.

Jimmy Kimmel Live [ABC]