After being graciously welcomed by everyone at American Idol, as the new judge for the show, it seems like talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is doing all that she can in order to ensure that she’s fully prepared for her new duties.
According to rumors, Ellen and her wife, Portia de Rossi have been looking back on past seasons if Idol to get a hang of what’s in store.
A source tells The National Enquirer, “Ellen and Portia have been watching old seasons on DVD to see how the judges interact with contestants and audience. Ellen wants to live up …read more

I tend to avoid all the gossip and speculative posts about contract negotiations since nothing is final and we really don’t know what is happening.  I do, however, take it a little more seriously when someone representing one of the parties makes a statement.
On the LA Times blog, they reported that Paula Abdul’s manager, David Sonenberg, had the following to say:  "Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol.’  I find it under these circumstances particularly unusual; I think unnecessarily hurtful.  I find it kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful that …read more

British singer, Sinitta, dated American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, on and off for 16 years.  The Sun is reporting that she revealed that she met him when she was just 14 years old and he was interested in her friend.
She explained how things turned from an amicable relationship (he was initially her producer and chaperone) to a romantic one: “I had a huge crush on him, but he actually liked a friend of mine who was triple-timing him. One day he just said: ‘You know what I don’t really like her. It’s you I like.’ You know when you don’t …read more

Wilshire Records, the independent label that released the pre-American Idol music of this year’s runner-up, Adam Lambert, is trying to defend their decision.  Adam voiced his disapproval and 19 Entertainment issued the following statement on his behalf: "The work I did back then in no way reflects the music I am currently in the studio working on."
It’s unfortunate because I can understand how having those songs released could be damaging to his career.  He’s obviously grown as an artist and, after being on the world’s most popular talent show, he wants to craft his image to be aligned …read more

Rumors that American Idol alum, Jennifer Hudson, is pregnant and, while it is true that she hasn’t personally confirmed the news herself yet, the reports are getting a lot more convincing.
First, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Dreamgirls actress celebrated with a baby shower in downtown Chicago.  The newspaper quotes a “source” as saying that Jennifer is about seven months along.  Wow!  Of course, the rumors have been compounded by the fact that she has postponed dates on her concert tour with Robin Thicke, claiming vocal cord strain.  She has also worn a lot of loose tops and weird …read more

Rumors are flying that Jennifer Hudson could be pregnant with her first child.  I read it first in OK! magazine and then again on Essence.com.
There has been no official announcement yet so the news is coming from “sources” close to Jennifer at this point (I hope that’s not true – why would they ruin her big news!).  The father would be Jennifer’s fiancé (and former I Love New York 2 contestant), David Otunga. 
Jennifer is currently on tour until May 8, 2009 with Robin Thicke.  If she is pregnant, touring must be tough.  In those early days expectant mothers …read more

Simon Cowell is doing damage control and he’s not the first to deny that there are any problems with the world’s most popular talent show.
OK! magazine’s current cover story claims that there is a huge rift between American Idol judges, Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul.  Even in the article about Simon, the mag says that during this week’s show, the ladies were barely able to look at each other.  I have to disagree with OK! because Kara and Paula were dancing together during Matt Giraud’s “sing for your life” performance (although, I had to admit that it did look …read more

Simon Cowell is possibly human after all.  He’s the cranky judge on American Idol here in North America but he also works on X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent in the U.K. and he continues to produce music.  I’ve often wondered how he could possibly do it all and not get burnt out.  From what he recently told the Daily Mirror, I can assume he’s wondering the same thing.  He said "I don’t want to come over as whiney, because I am very grateful that I have got these jobs.  But there is a point where I am not …read more

I wasn’t surprised to see this issue raised by E Online! – they claim that an “insider” said the contestants on American Idol don’t sing all of their performances live.  You can’t be shocked, can you? 
The specific performances in question are those group numbers you see at the beginning of the elimination show.  Sometimes, the vocals on those songs are so perfect that it’s unbelievable – literally. 
The “source” claims that "they do prerecord the chorus stuff. And they sing live their solos and sing over the track on live TV with the band playing live as well."
So, …read more

MEOW ALERT!  I have to admit that I was really surprised to read the reports that Paula Abdul was not necessarily digging the four judge panel on American Idol.  The NY Post quotes her as saying: “Kara and I have known each other for years and we get along great but we tried four judges before and it doesn’t work." 

I’d completely forgotten that Hot 97 DJ, Angie Martinez, was supposed to be a judge before the second season but pulled out last minute.  So, what does Paula have against the arrangement?  She said: "It takes up so much …read more