Anyway, a recording of Kara singing the song has popped up on YouTube and I think it speaks volumes about how insecure she is about criticism.  Her very memorable showdown with Bikini Girl last season was the first sign and now it just seems like she’s determined to prove that this song really is good.  I almost think it’s insulting to have this floating around since it almost feels like there’s a suggestion that Kris Allen didn’t do a good enough job.  Maybe I’m just being overly sensitive but that’s what I got from it.

Either way, if you haven’t heard it, check it out and tell me what you think.  I think that Kara definitely has a great voice and it does give the song a slightly different feel.  While I do think it might be a little better than Kris’ version, it’s only by a marginal amount – I still don’t like this song.

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There’s talk that Paula could be a guest on Ugly Betty.  EW.com says that the details are being kept a secret but that she might play a new temp at Mode who becomes friendly with Amanda (Becki Newton).  I guess that could work but I have to admit that I’ve lost interest in the show.  Any Ugly Betty fans out there have an opinion on this?

Also, while there was speculation over the possibility of Paula being added as a judge on Dancing With The Stars that has pretty much been ruled out due to Abdul’s feud with resident DWTS judge, Carrie Ann Inaba.  It is possible, however, that Paula could be added as a contestant and I have to admit that I might actually like to see that.  Of course, Carrie might not judge her fairly but who cares?  America gets to vote, right?!

Of course, fellow celebrities have also weighed in on Paula’s departure from American Idol with the most recent comment coming from Jamie Foxx, who served as a mentor last season.  In an interview, Foxx said that he was “hurt” when he heard that she had quit the show and said that it was “a let down” and that he’ll miss the special sensibility she brought to the show.  I think a lot of people are feeling that way.

There have been all sorts of rumors about the real reasons Paula suddenly tweeted about her exit from Idol but now the New York Times is claiming to have some real insight.  They are claiming that all of the attention that she’s now getting is a little suspicious.  Just a couple days ago, she wrote: “I’ve got a busy week filled with network meetings. I’m looking forward to all the new projects up ahead.”

The most common assumptions are that she left for money and because Kara DioGuardi was offered a contract extension.  After Ryan was given a blockbuster deal and we all know that Simon makes a lot of money, I think that Paula wanted to feel like she was valued.  Clearly, the network had enough money to bring on a fourth judge and I’m sure she wondered why they didn’t just increase her salary.  Paula supposedly asked for more than $10 million a year since she was making something like $3.5 million ($2 million and another $1.5 million for wardrobe and other expenses).  I don’t know if I think she should have gotten a full $10 million (although, former Idol winner, Ruben Studdard seems to think that Paula is “probably worth” that much) but $3.5 is too low.  Fox allegedly was prepared to offer no more than $5 million a year and I think that was a slap in the face.  I think $7 million would have been a good compromise but I guess Fox wasn’t willing to budge.  One “source” told the New York Times: “A lot of people at Fox had mixed feelings about Paula.  Some of the people who were having to deal with her on a day-to-day basis didn’t want her back.”

Oh well.  Hopefully, Paula lands on her feet because I think a lot of people love her, in spite of all of the controversy.  Singer Nadine Cole (of the group, Girls Aloud) has just been given a song that Paula wrote which will be used on the artist’s debut album so that’s some good news for the former Idol judge.

What do you think will happen to Paula?  Some people are even suggesting that she could come back to American Idol but I’m not too sure about that.

image: Bauer-Griffin

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image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: FOX

They quote a source as saying (about DioGuardi):  “Her deal is done. There are no ifs, ands or buts.  Done. She will be back.”

I’m sure she’s getting a lot less than the others are getting but I’m sure they have planned their finances to accommodate the salary of all four judges.  I’m not worried at all that Paula might not return – they’d be crazy to let her go since I think a lot of viewers love her sweetness while others enjoy watching her crazy antics.

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She described their little group as a “dysfunctional family of sorts” and added that she is “the nurturing mom, Simon [Cowell]’s the disapproving dad, and Randy [Jackson]’s the cool brother.  It’s been an interesting journey. It’s something that I’ll always would want to be a part of.”

While details about an actually renewed contract have yet to emerge, I do think this is a positive sign that the judging panel will not be too different from last year.   I think that Paula should remain with this show until it’s pulled off the air.  I don’t know if I would watch it if the judges were different.

You might have noticed that in her statement, Paula didn’t mention the newest judge, Kara DioGuardi.  I don’t know if that is just because Kara is so new or if Paula doesn’t think the other woman on the panel belongs in their “dysfunctional family.”  Either way, I hope Kara gets to come back.  One season wasn’t enough and I’m sure it was tough for her to be the “new kid.”  Hopefully, she will have more confidence and will feel more comfortable coming up with her own critiques.

Then again, maybe it’s better with three since there’s a good, bad and middle?  It’s hard to say because I also have watched the Canadian, British and French versions and they all work just fine with four judges.  It’s lame that these four couldn’t find a way to make it work.

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: FOX

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The wedding took place at the United Methodist Church and, for the most part, sounds like a traditional ceremony although it was very private – on 30 family and friends attended.  The 38-year-old producer-singer-songwriter wore a strapless Vera Wang gown and looked very elegant.

image: Zuma Press

“I feel great,” DioGuardi said.  “What was most unbelievable about the experience was when I looked out at the church and saw all these people that were so important to me and Mike, who were there for us. It was pretty powerful. I was very emotional and I’m not somebody who breaks down and cries.”

I was curious about how they met and I learned that it was pretty sweet/romantic.  The 34-year-old contractor (who used to be a teacher) built a house right next to DioGuardi’s New England home.  They began dating and then got engaged when he proposed in Mexico last December.

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I’m glad I didn’t fall for that (even though it might be true) since E! Online is saying that Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and newest judge, Kara DioGuardi, are still negotiating.  Apparently, Paula’s agent said: "The RadarOnline info is incorrect. Negotiations are continuing. You probably won’t hear anything until closer to September, when judges are needed back to go on the road."

So, what would you like to see happen?  I’d actually like to see another season with all four judges.  I don’t think one year is enough to judge the addition of a fourth judge.

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: FOX

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Host, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, wasted no time and got right to the point.  She wanted to know if Kara was as shocked as America (at large) was when Kris Allen was named the winner of this year’s competition since Adam Lambert had been considered the frontrunner for so long.  It was a bit awkward when Kara clearly wanted to be diplomatic (since she is working with both Kris and Adam Lambert on new music) but the ladies wanted to get a firm answer out of her.

Barbara Walters then asked about the fact that Ryan Seacrest announced that Adam would be addressing the rumors surrounding his sexuality very soon (it was kind of hilarious because the audience thought Barbara was saying that Ryan was going to come out as gay – too funny!).  Kara said that she always thought that Adam was “openly out.”

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When I first heard that Bikini Girl had a response to it, my first reaction was “why does anyone even ask Bikini Girl what she thinks?”  When I heard what she had to say, I wondered if the girl was actually delusional.  Has she heard herself sing? 

In this interview with Fox, Bikini girl admitted that she was upset and said that Kara just wanted “her 15 seconds” (um, Kara doesn’t need any more exposure) and “really made herself look stupid.”  No, sweetie, there was someone on the stage who looked stupid but it wasn’t Kara. 

It seems that the wannabe singer is saying the same thing to as many people she can.  I read the following quotes on USmagazine.com:  "I don’t think she got the reaction she was hoping for. I think she probably thought I would cry or get mad, and I didn’t — I played it off.  Looking back at the tape, she just made herself look stupid. She didn’t make me look stupid.   I knew there were 100 million viewers, so I couldn’t cry.  I couldn’t get mad. I just had to smile and deal with it.  I think they [show producers] tested me. I think I did really well considering all that I went through."

Um, what exactly did she go through?  She’s lucky anyone knows who she is and she can thank the producers for that.  Did she really think she was going to get a whole song to herself?  Apparently, she’s got a sister who is even sweeter according to this quote from Bikini Girl: "We were walking and [Kara] said, ‘Oh sweetie, I hope you didn’t take anything personally.’ I rolled my eyes, and my sister said, ‘Hey, next time you try to upstage my sister, get a spray tan! How old are you? 45 or 50?’ I looked back and shrugged. She kind of said what I was thinking!"  Keep it classy, Bikini Girl!

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX

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Of course, there were the finalists, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, along with the rest of the Top 13 and judges but the celebrities (and former contestants) came out in droves to see who would win the singing competition. 

It looks like season four winner, Carrie Underwood, hurt her knee somehow since she’s got her “owie” all covered up with four Hello Kitty bandaids. She still managed to look absolutely fabulous!

SEE MORE GREAT RED CARPET PICS AFTER THE JUMP!

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After they checked in with the hometowns of finalists, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, the Top 13 performed Pink’s hit song “So What?”  I am not sure why they picked this since I don’t think it works well as a group number.  It sounds kind of cheesy to be honest.  Kudos to Scott MacIntyre (Idol’s first visually impaired contestant) for navigating his way through the performance!

American Idol season 7 winner, David Cook, performed a song called “Permanent” and I really liked it.  He really is an impressive artist and I’m so happy with how great his career has progressed since the show ended.

More “Golden Idol Awards” (these are a little mean, aren’t they?).  They showed clips of the worst auditions of this season.  I am ashamed to admit that I could not stop laughing!  It great to see a whole highlight reel of Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle material.  He won, of course

Queen Latifah took the stage along with former contestant, Lil Rounds.  They performed “Cue the Rain” and it was a pretty good performance.  Did you like it?

Jason Mraz, along with former finalists, Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace, sang his huge hit “I’m Yours” (the rest of the Top 13) and I really thought it was a bit choppy and off.  I really love Jason Mraz and he was great but it felt a little strained and weird. 

We next got to see “The Journey of Kris Allen” and those montages always give me the chills.  I love to see how far they’ve come since we first saw the finalists in the audition round.

Kris thrilled his fans by coming out on stage with Keith Urban where they sang “Kiss a Girl” and I thought it was fabulous!

The great pairing just made the girls’ group performance stand out as mediocre.  Okay, really it was mostly Jasmine Murray who was seriously struggling (as she did in the Top 13 group number earlier) as she and Megan Joy started by singing “Glamorous.”  Allison Iraheta introduced Fergie who sang “Big Girls Don’t Cry” but the action didn’t stop there. 

The rest of the Black Eyed Peas came out and they performed their new single “Boom Boom Pow.”  It was an awesome performance and, is it just me, or is Fergie looking better these days?

Yuck, we get to see Katrina “Bikini Girl” Darrell again as a nominee(and winner) for the “Golden Idol Awards” in the “Best Attitude” category.  Why does she get to sing?  Ugh.  She butchered “Vision of Love” and I’m wondering if Nick Cannon is going to come out and defend his wife, Mariah Carey’s honor this time.  Uh oh.  Kara DioGuardi, Bikini Girl’s nemesis, came out on the stage and stole the spotlight by not only outsinging her but by also flashing her own bikini on stage.  That was awesome!

Allison Iraheta and Cyndi Lauper performed “Time After Time” and I thought it was a pretty great pairing.  It was a nice, mellow performance.  There were a couple weird moments but they are both, um, unique artists so what can you expect?

After Ryan talked to Kris Allen’s parents, Danny Gokey sang “Hello” (yikes, not sure I would have been brave enough to since that song after David Cook slayed it last season) and was joined by Lionel Richie and they sang some of Richie’s other music.

We got to see “The Journey of Adam Lambert” and then he took the stage with KISS.  Does it get much better than that?  I loved his outfit too!  I absolutely LOVE KISS and the fireworks and makeup are the only thing this year that has been more over-the-top than Adam Lambert on Idol.  What a show!

Carlos Santana had the bad luck to follow KISS and Adam Lambert but he was amazing, of course.  I love Santana.  He was joined by Matt Giraud and then the rest of the Top 13 when he started playing “Smooth.”  So good. 

After a Ford commercial with Adam, Kris and David Cook, Steve Martin took the stage with Michael Sarver and Megan Joy.  It was a cute banjo/bluegrassy kind of number. 

The Top 13 guys sang a group number where they performed “If You Want My Body” and introduced Rod Stewart.  I love him too!  He sounded a little rough but who cares!?

The last “Golden Idol Award” was awarded to Tatiana Del Toro for Outstanding Female.  She ran up on stage (even though Ryan pretended he needed to go to a break), accepted her award and started signing “Saving All My Love For You.”  Gotta love Tatiana.

For one last time, the Top 2 are singing together.  Kris and Adam sang “We Are The Champions” and it was really good.  I’m freaking out.  I don’t even know who I want to win tonight. 

Over 100 million votes were cast (recording breaking!).

FIND OUT WHO WON AMERICAN IDOL AFTER THE JUMP!

The winner of the eighth season of American Idol is… KRIS ALLEN!!!!!  I can’t believe this!  WOW!!!!!!!!!

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX

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