So Simon Cowell and Sting are going at each other. Sting said some not-so-nice things about The X Factor , including "it's a preposterous show, and you have judges who have no recognizable talent apart from self-promotion...basically I was looking at televised karaoke." Cowell responded by saying: "Talking about these contestants being a bunch of karaoke no-hopers ... I thought it was pompous." Cowell invited Sting to come on the show.
So who's right? I assume Sting's comments would apply to American Idol too.
If Kara DioGuardi has her way, she and Ellen DeGeneres will be hitting it off like franks and beans, peanut butter and jelly, frick and frack... two peas in a pod. At at an industry conference in New York, Kara was musing about the upcoming season of American Idol in which DioGuardi and DeGeneres will be sharing the judges' table together -- with Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, of course.
"I'm hoping the chemistry with Ellen will be great -- and a great start to the season," said Kara.
With that in mind, Kara's going to sleep on the couch at Ellen's house until they're bosom buddies. ...Kidding! But Kara will try to spend some time with Ellen during December when they both have some time off from their busy schedules.
Are you still losing sleep over FOX's unsurprising yet tragic cancellation of Josh Joss Whedon's Dollhouse? This may be the melatonin you need.
CollegeHumor has uncovered the true reason FOX nixed the action drama from its airwaves. It needed more room for more Seth MacFarlane cartoons about pop-culture spewing families with anthropomorphic pets and American Idol. I never thought I'd long for the good ol' days was Fox was known for quality programming like Bad Orderlies Caught on Tape 2 and When Lawn Equipment Goes Screwy 4.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
So Simon Cowell and Sting are going at each other. Sting said some not-so-nice things about The X Factor , including "it's a preposterous show, and you have judges who have no recognizable talent apart from self-promotion...basically I was looking at televised karaoke." Cowell responded by saying: "Talking about these contestants being a bunch of karaoke no-hopers ... I thought it was pompous." Cowell invited Sting to come on the show.
If 
Adam Lambert's first album since American Idol is coming out on November 23, and 
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 
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. 
I've 
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.
The past few seasons have seen some controversy about some 
Hmmm, maybe Ellen 
Oh sure, now that she's not there anymore, they miss her. Sounds like a familiar story, but this is 
Paula Abdul needs some career advice. In the wake of her departure from 
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
The Prisoner -- An early look
