American Idol-related stories
Posted Oct 28th 2009 3:31PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Alumni
Adam Lambert's first album since
American Idol is coming out on November 23, and
the cover of For Your Entertainment is stunning. Kris Allen's CD cover will definitely not look like this. Believe me, it won't.
To some, it's already too much. Too touched up. Too over the top. Too glamorous. Too much Adam.
Puh-leeze! Give me a break. This is exactly an Adam Lambert album cover should be. It should be stylized and dramatic. It should take your breath away. It should push the envelope because that's what Adam did in his entire
American Idol experience.
When faced with a chance to play it safe, Adam never did. You know the expression, "Go big or go home"? That was Adam Lambert on
Idol. He may have come in second to Kris, but he made a bigger impression.
Continue reading Adam Glambert... I mean Adam Lambert's new CD is coming out
Posted Oct 11th 2009 2:45PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Judges, Casting
Have you wondered why
American Idol's recently debenched judge Paula Abdul has yet to land somewhere? You know, as a TV personality, it seemed like after her tweet that she was not returning to the show, she was hit with an avalanche of offers... and then nothing. No dancing show. No
talk show. Just rumors. Okay, there was the
VH1 Divas thing and a guest appearance on
Drop Dead Diva, but nothing substantial.
Now, Ms. Abdul herself has hinted that there's yet a new possibility for her. She again used Twitter which is cheaper than a publicist.
Paula sort of attached herself to The X Factor. The British musical competition show is coming to America next year if Simon Cowell can work out the deal. Paula may be part of that package. Paula tweeted:
"Hey guys, I'm having a great time in London. Going to watch x factor rehearsals now. So excited! Almost the weekend!!!! Xoxo"Continue reading Will Paula Abdul join Simon Cowell on The X Factor?
Posted Oct 7th 2009 11:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, American Idol, Celebrities, Reality-Free, British TV
If you've ever wanted to smell exactly like America's most hated man (please get some kind of psychiatric help immediately), now's your chance.
Simon Cowell, the
American Idol and
X-Factor judge, will have his own brand of cologne along with the rest of the
X-Factor judges, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole.
A specific release date hasn't been picked, although it's said they will hit the stores by Christmas. It also looks as though they will only be released in the United Kingdom. And America wept.
Posted Oct 1st 2009 9:00AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: OpEd, So You Think You Can Dance
I've
said before that
So You Think You Can Dance is one of the few reality shows that I actually like, despite the fact that I'm not really one who appreciates dance as an artform. It's a show that I don't think exploits its contestants or talks down to its audience, and that seems to take its subject matter more seriously than, say
American Idol or other talent shows. And last night's show was more proof for me.
On
American Idol, we often hear that the more insulting advice from the judges is a form of tough love, and in some cases, they have a point. Some people think they can sing and just can't, and need to be told. And there are similar scenes on
So You Think You Can Dance, and similarly, some people stomp off convinced that they are "it" instead of, well, something that rhymes.
But
So You Think You Can Dance is much more up front and even aggressive about telling people how they can grow. The system is better - if you show promise but the judges aren't sure, you go to the "choreography" phase and you are shown fairly empirically what your faults are, and most contestants seem happy for the knowledge, and many of them do come back.
Continue reading Mary Murphy's Rules for What Not To Do
Posted Sep 24th 2009 5:26PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Pickups and Renewals, Judges, Alumni, News and Gossip
Simon Cowell's
The X-Factor has been a huge in the UK for several years now; that's where we got Leona Lewis. Due to his contract with
American Idol, he hasn't been able to bring it to the US. FOX feared the increased competition from a similar singing competition might hurt their juggernaut.
Now that Cowell is in the final year of his current contract, open negotiations to keep him on
Idol are including
talks of bringing The X-Factor to FOX. If
So You Think You Can Dance continues to underperform in the fall,
The X-Factor might be a logical replacement, pushing
SYTYCD back to the summer.
Continue reading Simon Cowell may bring The X-Factor to FOX after all
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 11:05AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Reality Shows, Late Night, American Idol, Celebrities, Game Show, TV Squad Lists
American Idol's choice of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge replacement threw everyone for a loop, even schlubs like me who don't watch the show.
It's not that she's not talented, successful or funny. It's just an odd choice, putting a comedian on the show that takes its goal of crushing losers' dreams on live television so seriously. It would evoke the same reaction from me if they picked Andrew "Dice" Clay as the new judge, if the Diceman was talented, successful or funny.
And besides, why do they need humor and comedy on such an otherwise serious show? There are lots of humorless, vapid and downright boring shows that are crying out for comedic interjection.
Continue reading Seven shows that need funny commentators more than American Idol
Posted Sep 18th 2009 4:34PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Last night, Paula Abdul hosted
VH-1 Divas. Would she be out of it? Would she say something crazy? Actually, she did something that was very smart: she impersonated the person who is going to take her place on
American Idol. Sure, you can say it's just dancing, but she's got the moves down right.
Posted Sep 17th 2009 5:35PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, American Idol, Judges, News and Gossip
The past few seasons have seen some controversy about some
American Idol contestants. Particularly in the case of Carly Smithson who'd already had a major label deal. People want their American Idol to be an unknown. Some waitress plucked from Texas or something.
Now that Kara DioGuardi's sticking around on TV's top show, she wants to have her own reality show. Everybody else on the panel has side projects. So
DioGuardi is shopping around a show she's developed called Dropped. The idea is simple: grab the best acts that have been dumped by their labels and give them a second chance to make it big. America loves second chances, right
Biggest Loser?
What a great idea. There are a lot of talented artists who got dropped by labels because of poor sales on an initial CD, or just differences in creative direction before they even got that far.
Continue reading Kara DioGuardi thinks Dropped artists deserve a second chance
Posted Sep 11th 2009 10:41AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Hmmm, maybe Ellen
doesn't know a lot about music.
Right on the heels of
Ellen being named as the replacement judge for Paula Abdul on
American Idol comes this news:
she's being sued by various record companies. You know the segment at the start of the show where Ellen dances onstage and often in the audience? Yup, it looks like she's been playing those songs illegally (over 1000 times), and the record companies don't like it.
What's interesting is that the spokesman for TelePictures (they produce Ellen's show) says they've been trying to work with the record companies for months to get a resolution to the issue.
Continue reading Second copyright lawsuit news of the day: Ellen!
Posted Sep 9th 2009 9:38PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Judges
There is big news in the world of television tonight. Multiple Emmy winner and talk show host
Ellen DeGeneres has joined American Idol as a judge. She will essentially be the permanent replacement for Paula Abdul, so if any of you were holding out hope that Paula was standing by to resume her post, forget about it.
The bigger story here is that a star of Ellen's stature, someone who has high visibility and is beloved by the public, has decided to become a member of America's number one rated prime time show.
Ellen DeGeneres on
American Idol as a guest star would be a rating boost, so it's safe to say that her weekly presence will ensure that
Idol's numbers will continue to be top of the chart.
Continue reading American Idol shocker: Ellen DeGeneres replacing Paula...permanently
Posted Sep 8th 2009 2:32PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Judges, Reality-Free
Oh sure, now that she's not there anymore, they miss her. Sounds like a familiar story, but this is
American Idol.
Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell are missing Paula Abdul at the judge's table. They're in the midst of the audition process, using guest judges like
Neil Patrick Harris and
Kristin Chenoweth, and Randy confessed that he's looked over for Paula during the process and wondered, "Where's my P?"
Simon, who seems to have a lexicon all his own, said that he misses Paula, too. But in his bizarre way with words, he compared the new
Idol atmosphere as different, like "comparing a carrot to a banana."
Continue reading So now Simon and Randy miss Paula
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 8:33AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Talk Show, Judges, Reality-Free
Paula Abdul needs some career advice. In the wake of her departure from
American Idol, the sometime choreographer/occasional singer and QVC pitch woman has been rumored to be doing all kinds of TV projects. Most have turned out to be rumors and nothing more, but in an interview with
TV Guide, Paula said there is a TV dream she covets.
Paula Abdul would like to host a TV talk show.
I can't imagine a worse TV vehicle for Paula, especially the kind of talk show she envisions. She said, "It would be a lot of fun variety with a ton of unexpected stuff and tributes to everyday people getting their big chance."
That sounds perfectly cloying, especially if you assume that Paula will be pretty much herself, pretty much like she was on
American Idol, which was uncritical, sweet, gentle and pleasantly unfocused.
Continue reading Could Paula Abdul thrive as a talk show host?
Posted Aug 28th 2009 3:03PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Music and Variety, America's Got Talent
An iPhone software developer is trying to turn the "anybody can sing" craze triggered by
American Idol and
America's Got Talent into an online social networking craze.
And, I admit, the more I think about that, the more terrifying it becomes. Take the first couple weeks of
Idol shows with all of the bad auditions and multiply them by the endless fool factor of the Internet.
iSing (created by Island Labs and available in Apple's iTunes store), enables anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch to record a 30-second audition. Singers then publish it and watch for their recording "to climb the charts as their 'fans' vote for (or against) it in this worldwide competition for stardom" (all according to an Island Labs release). You don't win anything but "stardom," should you do well.
Continue reading iSing app brings Idol and America's Got Talent style to iPhone
Posted Aug 27th 2009 10:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Judges
Could the departure of Paula Abdul from
American Idol actually result in a revitalization and renewal of the Fox monster hit? I ask that question because in the past couple of days, guest judges have been announced to sit in Paula's place and I'm absolutely psyched by the choices. The other day it was
How I Met Your Mother star
Neil Patrick Harris. Today,
Pushing Daisies' Kristin Chenoweth has been snagged as an American Idol guest judge. She's currently filming auditions in Orlando, Florida.
Continue reading Kristin Chenoweth on board as American Idol guest judge
Posted Aug 27th 2009 1:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: CSI, Nip/Tuck, Dexter, TV Squad Ten
A good show can keep you so entertained that you're willing to fight sleep to watch the rest of it. A great show physically keeps you awake.
It gets into your bloodstream and forces more adrenaline into your heart.
It turns the synapses in your brain into ferrets on espresso that dash back and forth between the lobes and fires your mind on all of its cylinders.
It is visual cocaine, which is much healthier than actual cocaine and doesn't require a frequent visitor punch card for an eyes, ears, nose and throat doctor.
These are the shows that assault all five of the senses or less depending on how good of a health plan you've got.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Most visceral shows
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