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.
American Idol and Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell might have shown some unfair misgivings about Susan Boyle before she proved her musical worth to the universe, but here's a preconception that even Paula Abdul would support.
Mr. Methane, a familiar guest to fans of The Howard Stern Show, is the world's only (thank Holy Christ) performing flatulist and he took a turn at the mic on Britain's Got Talent. Anyone want to guess if he made it through to the final round? If you guessed wrong, please get out of the gene pool and take a shower immediately.
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.
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.
Simon Cowell predicted it and he was right (and he has a hand in all this, you know). Susan Boyle is going to appear on the season finale of America's Got Talent, giving all of us a chance to see her as she is now. As this beautiful photo shows, celebrity has already transformed Susan. The shock to her system after the sudden fame has apparently waned, and she is now ready to bring her act to America. Britain's Got Talent nearly overwhelmed her, but that was then and this is now.
The appearance on America's Got Talent will be included in the NBC show's two-part finale airing September 14 and 16. And, they're calling this her "official" U.S. TV debut, but I think that's referring to singing only, because she's been on talk shows.
If the news that Ellen DeGeneres was going to become a judge on American Idol had broken a year ago, I would have been totally psyched. Hopefully she would replace Paula, and bring some much-needed humor to the show (humor that isn't mean-spirited or allegedly pill-addled, that is). But now that Ellen will be the new fourth judge on Idol, the news comes as somewhat as a disappointment.
I've been a huge fan of Ellen since her stand-up days, so I'm all for her showing up anywhere. I also think her purpose of bringing a "fan's perspective" to the show is a good idea on the producers' part. But does Paula need to be the only judge Ellen replaces?
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."
Of all the names bandied about as replacement judges and guest judges on American Idol, I can honestly tell you that today's name made me smile. How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris is filling in as a guest judge on American Idol as they conduct auditions in Dallas, Texas.
Neil is not only one of the funniest talents around, but he is a legitimate singer who has appeared on Broadway, hosted the Tony Awards (and the upcoming Emmys, too) and knows what it takes to sing professionally. And let's not forget Dr. Horrible.
Last week, the Simon Cowell twist was revealed: the America's Got Talent judges overlooked very good performers and Simon wants them to bring back eight wild cards. Fans rejoiced at the announcement because fan favorites Ciana, Kari and Tallan were sent back home while they should have moved on to the performance shows.
During the first performance show, Nick told us that The Diva League and Lake Houston Dance were two of these wild cards but didn't say who else was coming on board. I kept my eyes opened for a press release from NBC but either missed it or the network never sent one. TV Squad visitor berry4040 let me know in comments that NBC posted the pictures and bios of the eight wild cards on their contestants page.
Did Ciana, Kari and Tallan make the wild card cut?
Maybe she had a hard time taking extreme criticism from a man responsible for unleashing (heh) one of the most godawful songs on the planet.
Back in the early 80's, a young Simon Cowell helped bring "Ruff Mix," a techno tune consisting entirely of dogs barking, to the music world's increasingly tone deaf ears. He was so committed to making the song a success that he was even willing to go on national television dressed as the song's main character, Wonderdog, to promote it.
(S04E14) Last night, twelve acts battled it out for your votes. Who will make it through to the semi-finals? We found out the first five tonight.
But first, there was a big discussion about whether the last basket of Acrodunk actually went in last night. Piers said it didn't, and Sharon bet him $500 that it did. After the slo-mo replay, it was determined that it DID go in, and now Piers owes Sharon $500. Let's hope it goes to charity. Maybe a basketball camp for kids or something.
Nick introduced the acts, and I must say, there's quite a variety this season. I'm filling in for Isabelle on this review, and it's fun to see such a diverse group competing for the top prize.
"You stayed true to who you are, Paula. You were a real superstar up on that dais. And you looked great ... sometimes. Other times you looked like you poured yourself into a dress too small for Mary-Kate Olsen, but I digress. You were a little pitchy at times. Did I say pitchy? I meant tipsy, but we're still so proud of you.
"You were just so cute I wanted to squeeze you, pinch your head off and dangle it from my car's rear-view mirror. All of the judges are just so talented and amazing at what they do, and the competition won't be the same without you. But don't worry, Paula. This isn't the end for you. This is the beginning of your career. You can do anything you want because you are a star. Touchdown!"
Here we go America, you now have control over America's Got Talent. And just based on the comments TV Squad readers left on my last three AGT posts, it's clear that viewers were not happy with the Top 40 selection and that they hoped the Simon Cowell curve ball would allow them to rectify the list and bring fan favorite Kari, Ciana and/or Tallan into the mix.
Did Simon throw the curve ball we wanted? Did the first Top 40 performers deliver? My two cents, and yours via comments, coming up!
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.
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. 
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.
Simon Cowell predicted it and he was right (and he has a hand in all this, you know). 
If the news that 
There is big news in the world of television tonight. Multiple Emmy winner and talk show host 
Oh sure, now that she's not there anymore, they miss her. Sounds like a familiar story, but this is 
Of all the names bandied about as replacement judges and guest judges on American Idol, I can honestly tell you that today's name made me smile. How I Met Your Mother's 
If you're still scratching your head over 
(S04E14) Last night, twelve acts battled it out for your votes. Who will make it through to the semi-finals? We found out the first five tonight. 
"You stayed true to who you are, Paula. You were a real superstar up on that dais. And you looked great ... sometimes. Other times you looked like you poured yourself into a dress too small for Mary-Kate Olsen, but I digress. You were a little pitchy at times. Did I say pitchy? I meant tipsy, but we're still so proud of you.
(S04E13) "Tonight is opening night." - The Hoff
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
The Prisoner -- An early look
