Well, if you agree or disagree with the judges’ selections for the Top 24 on “American Idol,” they’re chosen and the part of the season where the contestants sing and we vote is upon us.
To whet your appetite a bit more, Fox provided us with a link to a little preview video of said Top 24. The bad news: it was through a widget that won’t work properly on Premium Hollywood. The good news: someone else has already uploaded the video to YouTube. Enjoy….
As Fox tries desperately to compete with NBC’s Winter Olympic coverage, they keep unveiling “first time in American Idol history” type stuff, which really is just a small break in format during Hollywood week.
But I’ll give them this…they are getting down to the final 24 quickly. Almost too quickly.
Last night’s two-hour episode began with the final 71 contestants being broken into three rooms. Two rooms would hold those advancing to the next round, and one room full of those heading home. This, after one final shot to impress the judges with a solo performance.
After eight seasons as a judge on the nation’s most watched show, FOX’s “American Idol,” Paula Abdul is not returning for Season 9. After it was announced last week that Kara DioGuardi, a rookie this past season, would be returning next season, Abdul’s sudden departure is not a huge surprise considering that many thought it was awkward at times having four judges. And as you might suspect, the bottom line was her contract. Abdul was making $4 million per year and was seeking in the neighborhood of $12 million, but she was only offered a 30% increase, or about $1.2 million.
FOX issued this statement today: “Paula Abdul has been an important part of the ‘American Idol’ family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show. While Paula will not be continuing with us, she’s a tremendous talent and we wish her the best.”
Let’s face it, Paula’s antics were both entertaining and disturbing at times, and she sometimes rambled on for far too long when giving contestants feedback. And while ultimately this is probably good for the show, let’s face it… Paula was part of the fabric of the show and in some weird way, we’re all going to miss her.
Last night’s “American Idol” results show began with another new twist of rules announcement. I was afraid of the judges throwing themselves more into the mix, but what they announced was something pretty cool. They flashed on a big screen folks like Tamyra Grey, Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson, and Ryan Seacrest asked what they all had in common. That would be that they finished third or fourth in the voting in past seasons, and subsquently went on to have huge careers. The judges will have the option this season to “save” one eliminated contestant and give them another chance, to make up for a bad week, or because they feel so strongly about the contestant. Keep in mind they can only do this once in the next 10 or 11 weeks.
They then showed the finalists in their new digs at the American Idol mansion…are you kidding me? And then they showed the new Ford video, where the group covered Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” And then there was another awful group performance of The Jackson Five’s’ “I Want You Back.” Blech.
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