I know a lot of media outlets are reporting that the American Idol judges are set to come back for the ninth season of the show but when I looked at their sources for that information, I couldn’t go along with it.

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 …read more

With the American Idol season 9 auditions only days away, the producers are really cutting it close with extending contracts to the show’s judges.
During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Paula Abdul revealed that she’s “not sure” she will be returning to Idol but confirmed that her contract is under negotiation and added: “I love my job.  I do. I feel that I’ve had a really wonderful journey with the show. It’s called ‘negotiating.’ ”
Simon Cowell has one year left on his contract and Kara DioGuardi only signed on for a single season.  No one seems to …read more

The American Idol producers are reportedly “pleased” with the addition of a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi.  While I sometimes like Kara as a person, I am not sure if I feel she adds anything useful to the panel in terms of critique for the contestants.  Still, I know it’s her first season and I want to be fair.  The major issue I have is that the show runs long so some contestants (like Adam Lambert a couple weeks ago) end up getting cut off and it’s not right. 
One executive, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, says that they have a solution: “It’s …read more