American Idle

Sounds like Paula Abdul is not coming back to American Idol, at least not this season, she says.

But Paula is headed to Las Vegas to headline her own show. The deets are below:

“That will be more… really announced later, when everything’s worked (out),” a glowing Abdul told Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson. “It’s going to happen, but the details have yet to be ironed out.”

Paula may also appear as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, as an offer was extended to her via Nigel Lythgoe.

Other than that, Abdul has a recurring role on “Drop Dead Divas,” and will host VH1 Divas sometime in September, so losing the Idol gig has really helped her career, in some ways.

However, Abdul has nothing but kindness for her former Idol family.

“I’ve heard from everyone and I love them all,” she said. “I wish them absolutely best. And we check in on each other and see how everything is going. It’s been great.”

Simon Cowell is reportedly finalizing a deal that will bring him back to American Idol for at least three more seasons. As if we didn’t already have enough bad news after hearing that Paula Abdul left.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

…Cowell, heading into the final year of his current “Idol” contract, hinted in the spring that he might leave the show at the end of his deal. But early in the summer, he entered negotiations with Fox for a new two-year pact.

…the uber-judge reportedly is poised to earn $45 million under the new pact, up from $36 million a year under his current contract.

I was hoping that Cowell would be leaving after this season, as reported. But apparently, Idol thinks they can’t live without the jerk, so we’re all stuck with him for what looks like three seasons at the very least, and possibly more. Ugh.

Also, Cowell has supposedly been given a raise from $36 million to $45 million, which basically means he can keep chainsmoking his stupid cigarettes and hang out with escorts all over the world. Congrats, Simon.

Now that three of the four judges are returning to American Idol 9, it begs the question: Is Paula coming back soon? Kara DioGuardi finalized her new deal with Idol, you know.

From E! Online:

“Her deal is done. There are no ifs, ands or buts,” a source said. “Done. She will be back.”

No surprise, but the source reports that DioGuardi’s new deal doesn’t even come close to what the other judges are getting or, in Paula Abdul’s case, asking for.

So, that settles it. Look for a deal to be done with Paula in the next week, before the judges have to be in place for the start of season 9 auditions.

News reports are flooding in that Simon Cowell has a new squeeze. From the looks of the photos, they seem cozy. Um, is that a lap dance she’s giving him?

One amazing note: the girl is not black, usually the kind of woman Cowell prefers.

But the girl is sitting on his lap as they lap up the atmosphere in St. Tropez at a local hot spot, and Cowell has millions of reasons (um, dollars) to be smiling about life. He and the girl are at the Club VIP, which apparently is a place for people of Simon’s ilk.

One other thing: Cowell looks none too happy about the photog snapping his picture, so…hmm…is Cowell playing naughty with a lady of the night? The thought did cross my mind.

And, if he is, what do you think of it? It kind of makes me sick.

Paula Abdul says she’s hopeful she can return to American Idol for season 9 despite rumors that the eighth season was her last.

Here’s part of what she told the Associated Press today:

“Abdul’s contract, which expired after the eighth season, has not been renewed. There has been speculation that Abdul would be replaced by Kara DioGuardi, who was recently added as a judge.”

“The 47-year-old singer-dancer says she hopes a deal can be arranged so she can return to the hit show.”

My guess is that some kind of an arrangement with Abdul has to be reached before August, when Idol 9 auditions crank up and the judges’ round begins.

Otherwise it would be pretty strange not having Paula around, especially when Simon is going off on some poor contestant.

For Susan Boyle, singing two songs on a tour is apparently exhausting, because she was scheduled to perform two nights in a row, but backed out of last night’s concert.

She performed her opening night set to a standing ovation, as the highly controversial but tad loony Brit singing senation continued to take her country by storm.

She opened the tour in Birmingham, England (not Alabama) in style, singing her trademark covers, “Memory” from the musical CATS and her other notable song, “I Dreamed A Dream.”

You can check out all the action here in her video, but one thing I have to say is if the rumors of her charging $15,000 per minute for personal appearances is true, then who’s getting duped?

Do you think she’ll be around for awhile, or is she just another one-hit wonder who is gobbling up her last 15 minutes?  

With the talk around the water cooler now switching from what could be to what will, the eighth season of American Idol is five days from fruition. That said, there are many changes to the show’s format that will have an effect, good or bad, on your viewing.

First off, what effect will new judge Kara Dioguardi have on the other three more established judges? Do the other three like her? According to Paula, she and Kara go way back, since Dioguardi has written and produced a song for Abdul. So does that mean the two won’t clash when it comes to singers? It sounds like Dioguardi is opposite of Abdul when it comes to critiquing. She’d rather take Simon Cowell’s lead. The other noticeable thing you will see is backstage. Will that mean fighting? More importantly, is Idol 8 gonna go the way of Jerry Springer? And what effect will the wild-card rounds have on the judges? These are all important questions to answer, along with the fact there will be younger mentors. - Los Angeles Times http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2009/01/season-eight-co.html

Guess who’s blogging for season 8? Phil Stacey, the bald dynamo from season 6 who made it all the way to the final six, will be doing his play-by-play for the Naples News, a Florida newspaper. He’ll be doing it on a weekly basis, giving us behind-the-scenes looks at Idol 8 the way only a former Idol can. He describes his experience on Idol 6 as one in which he felt like Willy Wonka at the Chocolate Factory. He’ll go into the way auditions are done, and which contestants you should “keep an eye on.” All told, Stacey was a formidable opponent himself in season 6, garnering a record deal as well as performing on some of the biggest stages around. - Naples News http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jan/08/american-idol-blog-former-idol-finalist-write-week/And finally, some Idols cleaned up at the People’s Choice Awards. Carrie Underwood won three such awards, garnering “Favorite Female Singer,” “Favorite Star Under 35,” and “Favorite Country Song.” In the above video (thanks MJ) she sings “I Know You Won’t” during the awards ceremony. And Jordin Sparks took home a trophy, a “Favorite Combined Forces Award,” for her song featuring Chris Brown which was called “No Air.” don’t you just love these award titles? LOL Anyway, it’s good to see so many Idols staying in the spotlight. Hope it continues.

Since Clay Aiken has come out of the closet, and in being the first major American Idol star to do so, he has been on a crazy ride. He also celebrated the birth of his son Parker and now will prepare for a much-needed break from his role as Sir Robin in the Broadway show Spamalot. He’ll get that break come January 4 and plans to start singing again, just as soon as he’s done spending some quality time with his baby boy. - People

Ruben Studdard hasn’t been as busy as Clay Aiken, mind you, but he’s still been doing something. In a recent look back with other Hollywood stars Ruben talks about how he got straight A’s…until he felt like opening up! In this case, he opened up his vocal cords and started using that bulbiferous voice until he almost lost the opportunity to have a Christmas!! Speaking out in class got him an F grade in conduct. When his mom found out, he said she told him he wouldn’t get a Christmas!! In the end though, as Big Rube pouted outside of their home, someone (probably Santa) put his gifts back in plain sight. His mother only meant to teach Ruben a lesson. - Star-Telegram

We all knew Simon Cowell was a jerk, but apparently he has taken that title a step further. Now he and his crack legal team have sent a notice ordering The Inquisitr, a blog, to take down the photo they published. (The incriminating (and hilarious) photo is above)). The bullies even carbon copied the photo to Cowell. So in the span of two weeks Cowell has (drum roll please) broken up with his girlfriend, had some English schoolkids name him more important than God and set a tracking device under his car. All I have to say, in closing, is that Cowell needs to lighten up! Then maybe people would lay off his sorry ass. - The Inquisitr