With Paula Abdul out and Simon Cowell in his final season, Randy Jackson had been poised to be the last man standing as the final original Idol judge to remain on the judges panel. But in what some TV industry insiders call a stunning move, Randy is reportedly being shoved toward the door as FOX struggles to revamp America’s most watched show.
Producers of American Idol are courting no-holds-barred radio shock jock Howard Stern to become reality TV’s next Mr. Nasty.
Idol informants claim FOX bosses are eager to bring Stern on board to replace Simon Cowell as the acid-tongue pundit on the show’s judges panel. Cowell will bid farewell to Idol in May as he prepares to launch an American adaptation of his UK ratings juggernaut The X Factor. Stern, on the hand, is the highest-paid radio personality in the country and threatening to jump ship on his Sirius Radio if the satellite service provider makes good on a promise to slice his $100 million a year deal.
Producers are believed to have approached Howard after he repeatedly mentioned on-air that his exclusive Sirius XM Radio deal ends next January and he would be willing to consider other offers.
“It’s one of the few shows that could compete with Stern’s $100 million-a-year Sirius contract, and ‘Idol’ bosses think he’d be even nastier than Simon.”
“Pants On The Ground” Mania isn’t done with us yet. General Larry Platt and the global phenomenon set off by his hit track fires on more than two weeks after the Atlanta senior citizen debuted the tune to the world during an audition on the 9th season of American Idol. After news broke that offers from record labels were on the table for the overnight sensation, an official studio recording of the song that made him famous has hit the web!
But more money almost always means more problems, TMZ is reporting that the General is on the outs with his former manager, Jason Mills, who’s releasing the song to radio stations without Larry’s consent.
Massachusetts Sen.-elect Scott Brown is putting his new-found fame to good use — the Republican lawmaker wants his oldest daughter back on reality TV. On Sunday, Brown told ABC’s This Week that he’d like his daughter Ayla to get another chance on the FOX talent show American Idol, where judge Simon Cowell once described her performance as robotic and empty.
A Florida woman was so upset and agitated after arguing with her boyfriend over the new season of American Idol, she stabbed him.
Police in St. Petersburg have arrested Cynthia Bettis-Ware, 52, on charges of first-degree attempted murder after she stabbed live-in love Kevin Johnson, 47, before scalding him with a cup of hot chocolate, police spokeswoman Jennifer Dawkins told The St. Petersburg Times. The nearly-fatal attack took place at the Empress Motel on Martin Luther King Street, where the couple had been living.