The Inquisitr » american idol

New ‘American Idol’ Judge Ellen DeGeneres will change show’s “sexual tension”

Bang — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:15:34 +0000

Ryan Seacrest says new ‘American Idol’ judge Ellen DeGeneres will change the “sexual tension” on the show.

The host is very pleased the openly gay star is joining the judging panel which includes Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, because she will bring a new dynamic to the series.

He said, “We love Ellen, she is a superstar. She will change the sexual tension. Simon and Paula had a specific sort of tension, but this will be quite different.”

Although Ryan is excited about Ellen’s arrival, judge Randy insists she has a lot to learn from himself, Simon and Kara.

He quipped, “She’ll be following my lead, I’ve told her to watch the dog.”

Ellen is taking Paula Abdul’s spot on the TV talent show, and will join the panel after the audition rounds are completed.

In the wake of Paula’s unexpected departure in August, her role was filled by a number of celebrity judges, including Shania Twain, Victoria Beckham and Mary J. Blige, for the audition stage.

Ellen who is married to actress Portia de Rossi said, “This is so exciting for me. Hopefully, I will be the people’s point of view because I’m just like everyone at home, I sit there and I watch it.

“I’m not looking at it in a critical way from the producer’s mind. I’m looking at it as a person who is going to buy the music and is going to relate to that person.”

Kelly Clarkson is set to return to ‘American Idol’

Bang — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:34:17 +0000

‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ singer Kelly Clarkson – who won the first series of the US TV talent show in 2002 – will appear as a guest judge at an audition next week.

A source said: “Kelly is beyond excited to get back to the show that started it all.”

It has also been claimed Kelly and the other current judges – Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi – will be joined by one of the Jonas Brothers to find America’s next pop superstar.

Following the departure of full-time judge Paula Abdul, who is believed to have quit the show over an alleged pay dispute, a series of famous faces have filled her place – including former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and ‘I Kissed a Girl’ singer Katy Perry.

The source added: “At this stage it doesn’t look like Paula will be replaced by one person. The celebrity judges are working really well for now.”

Other stars linked to the guest judge role include Jennifer Lopez and Shania Twain.

Paula Abdul heading to So You Think You Can Dance?

Duncan Riley — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:30:35 +0000

Paula Abdul may be joining So You Think You Can Dance as a judge after her very public decision to not return to American Idol this year over money.

So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe told Variety that he met with the occasionally drunk on stage washed up singer and that he was keen to sign her up.

He said nobody else had Abdul’s “experience of being a dancer, of being a choreographer and of being a judge.” However Lythgoe didn’t say exactly what her role would be, meaning she may only appear as a guest judge or a choreographer.

The possible switch comes as speculation mounts that the whole thing could be a publicity stunt. A promo running for TMZ TV shows the sites editor confirming from a high ranking source that Abdul is definitely returning to Idol.

Former Idol contestant Alexis Cohen found dead

Duncan Riley — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:11:36 +0000

Former American Idol contestant Alexis Cohen, best remembered as “Glitter Girl” was found dead early Saturday morning (July 25) in Pennsylvania.

Alexis Cohen was found by the edge of a road in Seaside Heights at 4am after a driver and passenger noticed her body and called 911. She was rushed to a nearby medical center where she was officially pronounced dead at 6:30 am.

Local media reported that an autopsy of Alexis Cohen’s body revealed chest and abdominal injuries and a closed head injury caused by collision with a vehicle. Police are currently treating her death as a homicide.

Alexis Cohen auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol covered in glitter, a look she explained as being like a pirate, and that she “likes things that shine.” She is perhaps better remembered for the rant she delivered after failing to get through to the final rounds. If you don’t remember her, an Alexis Cohen highlights video as follows:

Paula Abdul likely leaving American Idol

Duncan Riley — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:00:42 +0000

After months of speculation former singer Paula Abdul may be leaving American Idol, although not on her own terms.

David Sonenberg, Paula’s manager, is reported to have told The Times that despite Paula wanting to return to the show there has been no new contract offered to her by Idol producers FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment.

“Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol’,” Sonenbe said in a statement. “I find it under these circumstances particularly unusual; I think unnecessarily hurtful. I find it kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful that they haven’t stepped up and said what they want to do.”

Co-host Randy Jackson is on contract until 2011, Simon Cowell has one year left on his contract, and Ryan Seacrest is reported to have signed a new contract for a staggering $45 million. The show recruited new judge Kara DioGuardi last season, and after a year of four judges the rumor mill has strongly speculated that one would go. A similar attempt to use four judges on the Australian version of the show “Australia Idol” resulted in a cut to three after one season in 2007.

Ryan Seacrest Signs 3 Year American Idol Deal Worth $45 Million

Paul Short — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:19:48 +0000

Ryan Seacrest has just signed on to host American Idol for the next 3 years with a whopping $45 million salary.

It appears the recession hasn’t been as hard on the American Idol franchise as it has been on other parts of the entertainment industry.

According to People Magazine:

“Sought-after bachelor Ryan Seacrest has become an even bigger catch: The American Idol host has closed what is believed to be the biggest deal ever for a reality emcee and will triple his current salary, according to the Hollywood Reporter. His new paycheck: $45 million for three years.

In exchange, says the trade paper, Seacrest, 34, will work exclusively for CKX, parent of Idol producer 19 Entertainment. Best of all, the deal only covers broadcast-network work.

Separately, Seacrest will still maintain a cable agreement with Comcast and his gig as E! Entertainment’s main anchor. He’ll also continue to produce Keeping Up with the Kardashians for E! and a future Jamie Oliver reality series for ABC.”

Ryan Seacrest Photo

Simon Cowell was a horrible cheat

Bang — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:00:10 +0000

Simon Cowell was a “horrible cheat”, according to his ex-girlfriend.

Sinitta – who dated the ‘American Idol’ judge for around 16 years on and off – admits her relationship with him was tough as they were apart so much due to work commitments.

Asked if they did date for such a long time, 40-year-old Sinitta replied: “On and off, because Simon was a horrible cheat! He was a horrible cheat. He was always disappearing and stuff, you know, and I’d have to work and he’d almost be laughing as he waved me off on a plane to Japan, like, ‘Great, I’m going to have a really good time while you’re away.’ I’d be crying he’d be laughing! He reckons that I broke his heart, but he definitely broke mine.”

“We’d break up because he’d do something awful and I’d go off and find somebody else. Then he’d see me with somebody else and not like that and wait for it to fall apart. He’d do weird things to p**s my boyfriend off, and then, of course, I’d go back to him.

Sinitta also opened up about the start of their relationship, admitting he was initially romancing one of her best friends.
She explained to Heat Radio: “I had a huge crush on him. He actually liked a friend of mine, who was triple timing him, and he just really surprised me one day, by saying, ‘You know what, I don’t really like her, it’s you I like…You know when you don’t kind of believe it, because we were such buddies? But it was fantastic, because I thought he was really cute.”

Adam Lambert lands Lady GaGa’s producer for first album

Duncan Riley — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:30:19 +0000

The prospects for American Idol runner up Adam Lambert’s first album are looking up, with news that Lady GaGa’s producer has signed on to help.

Producer RedOne is credited as being the mastermind behind Lady GaGa’s hit singles, and is reported to have spent the weekend in the recording studio with Lambert.

RedOne tells the Los Angeles Timesthe he wants Lambert’s album to rock. “I want to go rock — David Bowie and Queen, but make it more easy for people to get. It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle to it, you know? You’ll like it.”

RedOne is also a Lambert fan: “You know what I like about him? He’s fresh…You can go almost whatever direction with him. People know him from being on ‘American Idol’ singing other people’s songs, but you can take him in a new direction, and this will be the first time you hear Adam Lambert with his signature. My goal is to get his signature out from him to the world.”

Clay Aiken fans may be behind Adam Lambert smears

Duncan Riley — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:00:44 +0000

Claims in the media that claim Adam Lambert is a rude diva may have come from Clay Aiken fans, at least one site is claiming.

According to ClayAiken411, “Claymates” (fans of Aiken) were behind the diva story first reported by MSNBC regarding Adam Lambert. The story was spread in an attempt to “get even” with Lambert after his stoush with Aiken last month.

The original report included multiple quotes from people who were allegedly connected to the shows, claiming that Lambert was a massive diva, rude to staff, and that he’d never get ahead with an attitude like that. What was surprising about the allegations was the timing: not once before has Lambert been accused of such behavior.

Aiken and Lambert have never met before, but drew headlines together after Aiken attacked Adam’s singing. Lambert jokingly responded later that Aiken was trying to ride his coat tails.

The knives come out: Adam Lambert accused of being a diva

Duncan Riley — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:21:43 +0000

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert has been accused of being a rude diva by insiders who worked on the show.

“He is such a diva. Rude to everyone — from fans right down to the lighting folks,” a source told MSNBC. Another source claimed that “A-list celebrities have come through here and been infinitely more polite.”

Because two sources is never enough, a music producer added that Lambert should change his attitude quickly. “No one sells that many records these days to be able to get away with that kind of behavior. To be a success you need literally everyone in your corner.”

The motivation for the attacks isn’t clear, although with Lambert continuing to dominate the headlines over winner Kris…what was his name again…Allen, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was an orchestrated attempt to take some of the gloss off Lambert’s continued popularity.

American Idol voting controversy: AT&T helped Kris Allen voters

Duncan Riley — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:19:07 +0000

The outcome of American Idol 2009 has been questioned following the disclosure that AT&T employees helped Kris Allen voters.

According to the reports, AT&T employees in Allen’s home town provided free phones and bulk text messaging assistance at two Allen parties. Allen was not expected to win Idol, with Adam Lambert entering the final week as the short priced favorite.

AT&T and Fox are both denying that anything untoward happened, although AT&T did confirm that employees did assist Allen voters.

It’s difficult to see how two parties in Allen’s home town could have influenced the national vote, but likewise the revelation does break two Idol rules: blocks of votes cast using ‘technical enhancements’ that unfairly influence the outcome of voting can be thrown out, and that text voting is open only to AT&T subscribers and is subject to normal rates, where as in this case voters were provided the ability for free.

Don’t expect any change to the result, but likewise the failure of American Idol to enforce its own rules casts a serious shadow over any legitimacy the show might have had.

No love between Gay Idols: Clay Aiken rips Adam Lambert

Duncan Riley — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:23:31 +0000

Former American Idol runner up Clay Aiken has ripped in to this years runner up Adam Lambert.

Having only watched Lambert perform once, Aiken writes “I only turn the show on once a season, and only to see what the set looks like each year. This year, I happened to turn it during the minute that Adam Lambert was singing ‘Ring of Fire’ and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening!

Aiken, who unlike Lambert denied he was gay before eventually coming out, also lashed out at the show that made him famous by accusing it of showing bias; “Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win,” he said. “In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don’t think I am alone.” Aitken believes that viewers voted against Lambert because of the bias shown by judges.

You can’t help but think that Aiken might be a more than a bit worried that there is now a challenger to the attention he gets for being a gay American Idol runner up

VIDEO: Adam Lambert With KISS

JR — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:56:48 +0000

Adam Lambert may not have won American Idol 2009, but — love him or hate him — his performances won’t soon be forgotten. During Wednesday night’s Idol finale, Lambert took the stage with rock legends KISS to perform an anthem of classic rock hits.

Adam Lambert With KISS

The Adam Lambert-KISS teaming sent sparks flying from the stage (quite literally). The gang took on “Detroit Rock City” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” in an epic, fire-filled performance.

Watch Adam Lambert with KISS below. Or, if you prefer the stylings of the other Idol finalist, check out Kris Allen and Keith Urban here as the two perform “Kiss a Girl.”

VIDEO: Kris Allen and Keith Urban

JR — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:56:23 +0000

American Idol is officially over for 2009. While the Idol results are certainly stirring up their share of discussion today, plenty of people are also buzzing about the Idol finale performances.

Kris Allen with Keith Urban

One of the most discussed performances of the night was Kris Allen and Keith Urban teaming up to perform “Kiss a Girl.” Acoustic guitar in hand, Allen joined Urban for a duet that, for many, proved to be one of the show’s most memorable moments.

Watch the Kris Allen-Keith Urban duet video below. Or, if you’re more of a Lambert kind of fan, check out Adam Lambert with KISS here.

Adam Lambert sings A Change is Gonna Come: American Idol Finale (video)

Duncan Riley — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:13:18 +0000

If the Adam Lambert Mad World performance was understated on tonight’s American Idol finale, Adam’s second song was the dead opposite.

Singing the “producers choice” of A Change is Gonna Come, Adam showed off his impeccable vocal ability, complete with lots of pitch perfect high notes.

And the judges loved it. Randy said to Adam that “You can sing your face off that was unbelievable.” Kara went for “a great combination of high notes and emotion…using both sided of yourself.” Paula added “The best that I’ve heard.. I know you will be iconic!” The hardest, but most important critic to win over was Simon Cowell, and in that regard, Adam won: “All I can say is that you’re 100 percent back in the game.”

Here’s the video of Adam Lambert singing A Change is Gonna Come on the American Idol Season Finale May 19:

Update: apologies, the original video was pulled while we slept. New embed should work.

a2 fin @ Yahoo! Video

Adam Lambert sings Mad World on the American Idol season finale (video)

Duncan Riley — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:46:51 +0000

It’s the final week of American Idol for 2009 and American gets to choose between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.

For his first song tonight, Adam Lambert revisited Mad World, a song he sang during the earlier stage of the competition. Being Adam Lambert though, the arrangement got a work over, with a new look, and a slight change of pace with the vocals.

Judges comments: Randy said he loves the coat and the performance, and scores it as an A+. Kara said Adam rocked it again tonight. Paula claims Adam is “astonishingly handsome” and said it was a great way to cap the journey. Simon though, who is in the media this week saying he thinks Kris Allen will win, claims that Adam performed the song better the first time around, and claimed that the coat made him look like the Phantom of the Opera.

One thing to say about the performance: it was risky. The song by its nature is understated, and while pulling it off scores performance quality points, it can underwhelm the audience vs a more energetic rock performance. I hope Adam hasn’t made a bad call.

Here’s the video of Adam Lambert singing Mad World on the American Idol Season Finale (May 19)

a1 fin @ Yahoo! Video

Danny Gokey out, Adam Lambert through to the final 2 in American Idol

Duncan Riley — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:41:15 +0000

America has voted and this years final two contestants on American Idol are Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.

In an overly long show that featured a performance by Katy Perry, a plug for a charity from Alicia Keys, and some serious cross promotion for Night at the Museum 2 featuring Ben Stiller, Danny Gokey was finally shown the door.

The result was somewhat of a surprise. Lambert has long been the short priced favorite, but Allen was in the bottom 3 only two weeks ago, where as Gokey had been a crowd favorite and an early front runner for this years competition.

The American Idol Final 2 2009 show will air next Tuesday, with the winner of American Idol being announced Wednesday May 20.

And I nearly forgot to add: Go Adam Lambert!

Adam Lambert sings One and Cryin on American Idol (video)

Duncan Riley — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:17:04 +0000

It was down to the final three on American Idol this evening (May 12) with Adam Lambert going for gold next week.

With three left in the competition, each contestant had to sign twice this evening, one song picked by the judges, the other open choice. Adam was allocated One by U2, which Simon claimed he had to clear directly with the band first. For his second appearance on stage, it was Aerosmith’s Cryin.

Comments for One: Randy – you are in the zone, unbelievable vocals; Kara – you’re a strategist you proved you can take a song, change it up and make it unbelievable; Paula – it as one brillant song, one superb performance, one AI I’m staring at right now; Simon- I thought it was a brilliant song choice, you worked out what you wanted to do with it, a brilliant brilliant performance, if you aren’t in the finals it will be one of the biggest upsets.

Comments for Cryin: Randy – you are one of the best we’ve ever had on the stage; Kara – amazing we’ll see you at the finals; Paula – you set the bar so high I hope you are collecting frequent flyer; Simon – I want everyone to vote for you base on the fact you deserve to be there, not to assume.

The Adam Lambert singing One on American Idol Top 3 May 12 as follows. We’ll update with a video of Cryin shortly.

Update: Adam Lambert sings Cyrin video:

Allison Iraheta out, Adam Lambert safe on American Idol

Duncan Riley — Thu, 07 May 2009 02:21:36 +0000

American Idol is down to the top three with the final female contestant Allison Iraheta going home this evening.

The final four eviction show May 6 featured performances from No Doubt and Paul Adbul, but it was the elimination as always that was the center of attention. Before starting, host Ryan Seacrest noted that there had been 64 million votes cast this week, more than any non-final Idol week in the show’s history.

Kris Allen was the first contestant to be told he was safe, leaving three contestants for two spots. Adam Lambert had the next safe call, a great recovery from his bottom three last week. Then it came down to Danny Gokey and Allison, with Allison being shown the door.

The results haven’t been well received online, with fans calling the decision wrong and BS.

Adam Lambert sings Whole Lotta Love on American Idol (video)

Duncan Riley — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:03:36 +0000

Adam Lambert didn’t disappoint on Rock Night on American Idol this week, heading straight for a greats with a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love.

On the Adam Lambert scale of interpretations, it was perhaps the least adventurous he’s been, but why mess with the greats! It certainly didn’t hurt him at all with the judges and the audience.

Randy said “This is the Adam that I love, dude…you are a rock star tonight…you and slash should make a record.” Kara said “you are more than a rock star you are a rock GOD.” Paula, “Your a whole lotta perfect” Simon said, “I thought the performance was a little understated….teasing!…it was one of my favorite performances you’ve ever done…nobody can top that now.”

Here’s two videos of Adam Lambert singing Whole Lotta Love on American Idol May 5. Note the quality in the first one isn’t great, but includes video footage. The second one is simply the whole song sung by Adam.

Update: here’s a better copy