“American Idol” producers are determined that the show must go on after Simon Cowell jumps ship, and so they’re on the hunt for someone with a acid tongue to replace him. Their number one pic is apparently Howard Stern, who is known for telling it like it is with the help of expletives and a serious dose of attitude. Howard is also a big “Idol” fan, and he always dissects the show and its contestants on his radio show. Says a source, “It’s one of the few shows that could compete with Stern’s $100 million-a-year Sirius contract, and ‘Idol’ bosses think he’d be even nastier than Simon.”
Howard is staying surprisingly silent on the behind-the-scenes negotiations, saying, “I was approached by a major TV network to take over a TV show and leave here and do that next year — and I did turn it down . . . I’m not even sure if I want to be working. I’m waiting to see what happens.”
Hm…that could mean anything - maybe he was tapped by Barbra Walters to co-host “The View?” [Photo: GettyImages]
You could be forgiven for assuming Simon Cowell’s upcoming American version of his hit British talent show, The X Factor, won’t be any different than the show he’s leaving, American Idol. But “Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby),” the debut video from Jedward, twin brothers who made it to week 7 on the UK series’ 2009 season, makes painfully clear Simon’s program will offer more than just wanna-be Kelly Clarksons and Kris Allens. Along with the young solo dreamers we’re used to, The X Factor lets a number of older singers and groups compete as well. Imagine, on American Idol, these guys would have never been allowed to sing together, denying us the sight of two massive pompadours bouncing to a mash-up of Queen and Vanilla Ice (who raps in the video as well). Who knows what freaks Simon will find in America once he doesn’t have to play by Idol’s rules? You’ve been warned.
Get a better look at the magic that is Jedward in the gallery below.
Fans of the fight between Kara DioGuardiand guest judge Katy Perry onAmerican Idol earlier this week, take hope. The “I Kissed A Girl” singer says she’d love a permanent place at the show’s desk. “If I was offered that job as a permanent host, I would ditch my career and take on that career,” she toldMTV News. “American Idol was great fun. It was so easy. I didn’t really make anybody cry, but I did tell the truth to some kids that might have needed to hear it.” Hmmm, while producers are allegedly shopping for more of an old-record-company-dude type like departing judgeSimon Cowell, we’re sure Randy Jackson wouldn’t mind being the only dude on set. And hey, you could always replace Kara, right?
Not that you have to worry about any bad blood between the ladies. “People actually think that I was upset by this, like there was tension,” DioGuardi told Idol host Ryan Seacrest’s radio show this morning. “I think that it’s really good that she disagreed with me.” Though the songwriter does have back-up if she needs it. “My Italian cousins back home wrote me texts like, ‘Does she need a smack down?’ I was like, ‘No. You’ve got to chill out.’” Here’s hoping Perry gets another chance to risk their wrath.
The more audition episodes we have to endure on American Idol, the more we wish that they’d just condense them into one two-hour special and then zip right into Hollywood. Dallas was, with the exception of Neil Patrick Harris and backflipping Todrick Hall, yet another episode that dragged, but there was definitely some talent in the Lone Star State. Read More »
We can confirm that L.A. contestants on American Idol are a lot more emotionally unstable than in other cities. That was the biggest lesson we learned from Tuesday night’s crying montage anyway. We also learned during the episode that Avril Lavigne will never not shop at Hot Topic, Katy Perry appears to hate Kara DioGuardi as much as we do, and a lot of ministers want to be rock stars. Read on for all of our stray observations from this pretty craptastic episode. Read More »
With the Idol-popularized “Pants On The Ground” making its way into locker room speeches and political debates, it’s not a big surprise that someone has come forward to accuse the song’s creator, “General” Larry Platt, of plagiarism. A Detroit duo by the name of The Green Brothers told MyFox Detroit that Platt’s anthem is a “takeoff” of their 1996 recording “Pockets On The Floor.” As it says on their YouTube clip, “the General’s song [has] the same intent, idea and in part the same message. YOU BE THE JUDGE AMERICA!!” Having watched the video clip above, we’ve come up with two possibilities.
Platt, a 62-year-old civil rights hero and community activist, somehow came across this obscure, awkward jingle and, over a decade later, performed a poorly remembered variation at an American Idol audition as part of his Machiavellian plan to achieve fame and wealth.
More than one middle-aged man has been struck with the brilliant idea of rapping about slovenly youth fashion over the last decade and a half.
Thankfully, The Green Brothers merely want some attention and have yet to file any kind of suit. Besides, it’s not like Platt has seen any cash from the cultural saturation “Pants On The Ground” has achieved. Maybe he can hire the Green Brothers as back-up dancers when he finally takes the song on tour. [via HuffPo]
Poor Ellen DeGeneres! Well not poor, per se, as she’s getting quite a bit of cash to replace Paula Abdul this season on American Idol. But she might have reconsidered things if she knew departing judge Simon Cowell would spend this year battling Idol exec Simon Fuller as he plans his rival program, The X Factor. According to Deadline Hollywood, Cowell showed up an hour and a half late for Ellen’s first day of filming yesterday, inspiring her to call her deskmate a “prima donna” and ask that Fox “hurry up and pick” Cowell’s replacement. Can’t wait to see the love between them on screen!
While Ellen has every right to be pissed—she’s shooting her morning talk show earlier to make time for Idol—potential successors of Simon’s are also fielding offers from another talent show: Simon’s. Both Idol and X Factor have reportedly put former Sony head Tommy Mottola, most famous for finding—and marrying—Mariah Carey, at the top of their wish list. “Mottola is in the middle of all that and beneficiary of it. Mottola has remarkable leverage because of this tug of war and will get a big payday from somebody,” says their source. If Simon signs Mottola and old banter-buddy Abdul, Ellen could wind up Idol’s cousin Oliver.
We’re betting that American Idol contestant Michael Lynche isn’t too happy with his father right now. You may not recognize Lynche’s name yet because the Idol hopeful only just made it to Hollywood during this past week’s Orlando auditions (and was possibly overshadowed by Kara DioGuardi’s obnoxiousness and the guy who was dragged off in handcuffs). Unfortunately, Lynche’s golden ticket isn’t going to take him all the way to the finals this year. The singer was cut from the show after his father violated a confidentiality clause when he told a local newspaper that his son made it to the Top 24.
In his audition video, Lynche, a.k.a. Big Mike, shows off his personality and his big guns - seriously, his arms are the size of our torso - and says he got his start singing in church. We hope he also learned how to forgive in church, because we bet he’s pretty upset with his father at the moment. [Photo: AmericanIdol.com]
Glorious, landlocked Orlando, Florida was sweet relief after the terrible, horrible, no good very bad day we spent in Chicago for American Idol auditions this week. Plenty of great contestants to choose from, a pair of sisters who dressed in neon mini-dresses that came courtesy of the 5-7-9 at the Cherry Hill Mall, a guy in handcuffs, and Kara DioGuardi’s horribleness amplified to the nth power, where “n” equals Kristin Chenoweth. Algebra aside, this was an episode we loved and hated all at once. Read More »
Paula’s gone, Simon’s leaving soon and, if last night’s American Idol was any indication, the show is slowly becoming a shadow of its former self. The one thing that will remain is Randy Jackson. Jackson has certainly been the one that’s gotten lost in the Idol Judge Shuffle: he’s not one of the new girls, but he’s not as fun to watch as Simon or Paula either. He’s also steered clear of any contract disputes, cuz this dawg is just happy to be gainfully employed. “I’m there for a while. I still have some time left on my contract,” he recently told the New York Post, adding, “And we’ve built an amazing franchise that can go on for another five or six years.”
And what about the fact that he’s the most overlooked judge on the show? Even Kara DioGuardi gets more attention (Although if we’re writing about her, it’s usually negative attention. But still.) and Ellen DeGeneres‘ February debut will definitely be buzzworthy. Randy doesn’t mind flying under the radar. “I don’t necessarily feel ignored in the situation,” he said. “Look, I’m a musician. I’m a music guy. That’s my world, my life, so whenever I had antics, I was always on stage, performing. I’m just happy to be part of this team and I don’t feel slighted at all. I’m so blessed to be on this amazing ship of a show.”
For now, the S.S. Idol is still sailing, but we’re curious to see if it truly does have five or six more years in it without Captain Cowell. Our eyes are peeled for Coca-Cola and Ford sponsored icebergs ahead.
