“American Idol” Boots Degeneres, DioGuardi, May Add J-Lo and Steven Tyler
The next season was going to be a huge transition year for American Idol as it was, what with Simon Cowell leaving the show. But now instead of a mere make-over, it looks like the highly-rated talent competition is headed for a complete overhaul.
Certainly, the judges’ table is going to have a very different look. And sound. And gender make-up.
As previously stated, the cantankerous Mr. Cowell is already out. And according to a new report, Ellen Degeneres has elected to follow him out the door after only one year.
But that’s not the end of the changes. A new report on TMZ says judge Kara DioGuardi has been fired.
You wouldn’t expect a show like Idol to start slashing people like this without a plan for how to replace them. Indeed, it appears the show may already have their new judges in place.
If the rumors are to be believed, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler will be those new judges.
Lopez and Tyler, unlike DioGuardi, bring star power to the panel. And unlike Degeneres, they actually have a connection to the music industry.
After a season of gender equality at the table, the balance will skew back to the male side, with Lopez and Tyler joining hold-over Randy Jackson.
Clearly, the Idol people went into panic mode after the departure of Cowell. Without their star judge, they knew they needed to grab some big names from the music biz to make a splash.
And they were too proud to ask Paula Abdul back.
The question now is, which panel member becomes the new Simon? My money’s on Lopez. She looks like she can be pretty bitchy.
Filed Under: Features
