Idol Stalker » Rumors

Ellen DeGeneres Watching Past Seasons of Idol?

Jeanne — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:22:05 +0000

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 to the high expectations.”

It seems like host, Ryan Seacrest has very much embraced Ellen being part of the show and says that she’ll have one definite role – cutting the “sexual tension.”

He has 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…"

I really hope Ellen will feel welcomed! Seems like she’s already become so devoted to the show. I’m sure she’ll add a lot to the show, and it should be interesting to see how she does!

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Post from: Idol Stalker

Are Paula Abdul’s “American Idol” Days Coming to an End?

Jeanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:16:00 +0000

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 they haven’t stepped up and said what they want to do."

He goes on to say that he has "reached out to the head of business affairs at 19" and told Fox that "Paula would love to be on the show” but has “not received any proposal whatsoever."

Sonenberg continues his verbal diarrhea by adding: "She’s not a happy camper as a result of what’s going on. She’s hurt. She’s angry. I think at this point we’re going to be considering everything, including some kind of a competition show. She has tremendous ideas for a whole variety of shows."

First of all, I think this guy could be getting overly dramatic for nothing. I realize that Fox is really going down to the wire here and American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest, has been given a mammoth deal but surely he has some hope that this show would not go on without Paula. Especially after Fox publicly said that she can stay on for “however long it [the show] lasts.”

Post from: Idol Stalker

Ex-girlfriend Sinitta Calls Simon Cowell a Cheater

Jeanne — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:37:41 +0000

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 kind of believe it, because we were such buddies? But it was fantastic, because I thought he was really cute.”

image: Zuma Press

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the easiest relationship since he seems to have had a wandering eye. She says that they dated “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 know it’s hard to say what I would truly do in that situation but I would think that a mature woman might cut ties with a man who continues to cheat and refuses to settle down and marry (or commit) over 16 years. To make matters worse, Sinitta said that he even tried to put the moves on her sister and best friend! That’s unforgiveable!

She had one final thing to say about it: “crying over Simon Cowell – it’s so bad isn’t it? So bad. 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 the somebody else and not like that and wait for it to fall apart. He reckons that I broke his [heart], but he definitely broke mine.”

They must be friendly still, however, since he’s her children’s godfather!

Post from: Idol Stalker

Indie Label Tries to Justify Releasing Adam Lambert’s Pre-Idol Recordings

Jeanne — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:33:22 +0000

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 with who he is today. When you’ve got old stuff mixing with new material, it can confuse and even disappoint your audience.

Wilshire teamed up with Hi Fi Recordings to release, On With the Show, an album that will feature 11 songs that were recorded by Adam before he appeared on American Idol. Of course, Hi Fi has a different take on the situation. They told Usmagazine.com the following: "Adam is now enjoying the success that he and Wilshire Records hoped for. However, he is now represented by high-profile companies who released a statement in Adam’s name saying the songs on On With the Show were recorded four years ago and Adam only contributed vocals. This is simply not true.

The songs were recorded in a professional recording studio with top notch musicians and producers since the music was always meant to be released. Of the 11 songs that will appear on the album, On With the Show, Adam co-wrote eight with Monte Pittman (Madonna’s guitar player). As co-writer and performer, Adam will receive significant royalties just as any superstar artist would. He has the chance, finally, to make a fortune for his work — definitely more with this album than through a major label deal.

This pre-Idol work is a fantastic representation of who Adam is and what inspired him during the months before he became famous. We intend to see that Adam will still benefit from the success of ‘Want’ (on iTunes now), and from the sale of On With the Show, even though he is now part of a major franchise that only wants fans to hear the music Adam records for them."

That was a slightly snotty statement, if you ask me. Clearly, they don’t respect how former contestants are treated by 19 Entertainment but they shouldn’t assume to know what arrangements Adam has made.

Will you buy Adam’s pre-Idol music?

Post from: Idol Stalker

Jennifer Hudson Has Baby Shower!

Jeanne — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:13:30 +0000

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.

image: Bauer-Griffin

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 clothes at her recent public appearances (that outfit on the Today show even caused me to raise my eyebrows).

People.com quotes Jennifer’s longtime friend, Felicia Fields, as saying the following: “It was a baby shower, a quiet gathering of friends and mostly family. They’re really trying to keep it kind of quiet. It was a nice time that we had. They don’t know [the gender].”

Honestly, if you knew that your friend was “trying to keep it kind of quiet,” would you confirm rumors to the media? I know that I would not. I wouldn’t want to steal someone else’s thunder.

If she is pregnant, I wish her all the best. She seems like an incredibly strong person and motherhood can be so amazing. Besides, she probably sings the best lullabies in the world!

Post from: Idol Stalker

Jennifer Hudson Pregnancy Rumors

Jeanne — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:30:05 +0000

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 are so tired (and sometimes queasy) so I’m sure she will be looking forward to when the shows are over (if she is, in fact, pregnant).

Hopefully, Jennifer is happy (baby or not) and this can be a year of new beginnings and closure for her. After her family was murdered last year, she’s shown so much strength and courage. If she is expecting a little one, I’m sure it will be bittersweet since a baby can be such a joyous addition to life but it would be sad that Jennifer’s mother never got to meet her grandchild.

Post from: Idol Stalker

Simon Denies American Idol Feud… Again

Jeanne — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:21:29 +0000

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 fake).

Simon said: "They both seem to get along well. As far as I’m concerned, we’ll all be back on it next year… There’s no weirdness going on behind the scenes."

What do you think? Are things weird between the judges? They can deny it all they want to but I think something is wrong. You can just see how Kara is not only left out of stuff but she’s mocked and even ignored at times. Simon and Paula seemed to be making an extra effort to be friendly just to leave Kara out, in my opinion. It’s pretty strange but I will say that I respect Randy since he seems to be the only one of the original three judges to be taking the high road.

Post from: Idol Stalker

Is Simon Cowell Leaving American Idol?

Jeanne — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:07:24 +0000

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 sure we can keep this schedule up. I am not sure we can sustain me doing three shows a year, [along] with the record label and the TV production company."

How does he manage to work in two parts of the world? There are times when he actually has to make four transatlantic flights a week. I cannot imagine that. Just one flight to get somewhere is exhausting to me. I can’t imagine how he knows where he is and what time it is. Maybe that’s why he’s so cranky!

Anyway, Simon says that one of his jobs “may have to go” and, if you look at his reasoning, it sounds like he’s saying that he could quit American Idol. "I can’t imagine not doing Britain’s Got Talent, and I can’t imagine not doing X Factor," he says. "I guess [my show in] America is more likely to go, because I have got one year [left on] contract. Maybe that will be the end."

Not that Cowell plans to kick back should he unearth any free time. Rather, he says, "I have got one idea to launch a big new show next year. But can I tell you what it is? Absolutely not."

He also revealed that he’s got an idea for a big new television show but he refused to say what it was. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

image: Bauer-Griffin

Post from: Idol Stalker

Do American Idol Contestants Really Sing?

Jeanne — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:35:56 +0000

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, what do you think about that? They didn’t say anything about the individual performances but are you bothered by the possibility that they are lip-synching to the group numbers? I don’t really care, to be honest. I see the results show as a fluff accompanying what I really care about – the elimination. They deserve to rest their voices and have one less thing to memorize so it doesn’t bother me. I can understand, however, why some people would be upset.

Weigh in – is lip-synching or using a pre-recorded track wrong for the group performances?

Post from: Idol Stalker

Paula Abdul Weighs in on Fourth Judge, Kara DioGuardi Responds

Jeanne — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:10:15 +0000

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 time for each of us to give our opinion that it slows down the pace of the show. It is the last season of my contract, and I have so many other things I want to do.” YIKES!

Of course, fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi responded to the comments. Access Hollywood quotes her as saying: “Paula has a right to her opinions, but I was disappointed by her comments, and hurt that she did not address them to me in person. I am proud of my contributions to the show, and remain excited about the rest of the season.”

Should be interesting to see if there is any tension between them tonight!

Post from: Idol Stalker