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It's official. Fox has announced the addition of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez to the American Idol judges panel this season.
Idol Season 6 runnerup Blake Lewis couldn't wait to issue a statement -- and prompty tripped, er, beatboxed all over his tongue.
"The judges are fresh for the 10th season of Idol,'' Lewis said in a statement. "I am ready to see Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler take over. I love that this season’s panel now includes judges who have made a career as performers and I can’t wait to see what antics these two will bring to that table. As long as this year’s contestants are diverse and true to the stage, I'll be in the front row of my living room just like the rest of America."
Yeah, whatever, Blake. Wonder what Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson make of your statement. Paula, you might recall, got her start as a choreographer and performer with a string of hit singles to her credit in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Randy played bass on countless artists' records and toured with Journey in the 1980s on the Raised on Radio Tour and onward.
Here is the AP report on today's announcement:
INGLEWOOD, California -- (AP) -- Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler will join Randy Jackson
as "American Idol'' judges next season, after months of turnover and speculation about
the future of TV's top-rated show.
With pomp rivaling that of a U.S. Supreme Court appointment, Fox finally assembled the
new pieces of the "Idol'' panel that will be returned to its original three-member format
for season 10.
Actress-singer-dancer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Tyler will have the job of trying to
match the offbeat chemistry of former judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.
"This is ‘American Idol,"' host Ryan Seacrest said after the new trio took the stage
with him.
Tyler said he wanted to join the show because "it's being a part of something much
bigger than yourself. ... I want to bring some rock to this rollercoaster and show if
you've got the heart, the talent, the feeling to do this you could be the next American
Idol."
"I'm so excited," Lopez said. "I'm looking for the next Michael Jackson."
The likely Lopez-Tyler pairing had been reported so frequently that Fox would have had
to produce Betty White and 50 Cent instead to generate any surprise.
Cowell announced last January that he planned to leave to launch a new talent show for
Fox in 2011, with newcomers Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi exiting this summer. Abdul
left in 2009 over a contract dispute.
Jackson will be the only original judge when "American Idol'' returns in January.
Lopez and Tyler could help "American Idol'' reinvent itself for the new season, when
it will try to stem a ratings slide and bring in younger viewers. The show's audience has
been gradually aging, and advertisers prefer to pitch to young adults.
But Fox and the show's producers didn't match the new judges to the target audience
when it comes to age: Lopez is 41 and Tyler is 62. Jackson is in the middle at age 54.
Lopez's films include "Selena," "The Wedding Planner'' and most recently "The
Back-Up Plan." She has appeared as a mentor on "American Idol."
She was part of the "Fly Girl'' house dancers on the comedy show "In Living Color,"
in 1990, before becoming a backup dancer for Janet Jackson.
"On the 6," Lopez's first album, came out in 1999 and launched a career in pop,
Latin, hip-hop and R&B. "Love?" is the latest CD from the Grammy winner, who has twins
with husband Marc Anthony.
Tyler brings a colorful and tempestuous history with him. He's fought with his band
mates, been in rehab for prescription drug abuse and took a fall off a stage in 2009 that
forced cancellation of Aerosmith's summer tour.
"American Idol'' was the nation's favorite program last season, the seventh time it's
held that position. But it showed rare vulnerability, beaten in the weekly ratings several
times by ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."
A total of 24.2 million viewers watched the ninth season's final duel between Lee
DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox, compared to the nearly 29 million viewers who saw Kris Allen
claim victory over Adam Lambert last year.
-- By LYNN ELBER/AP Television Writer
Maybe this what the show needs...something fresh. I will watch the first few shows to check it out. If it doesn't work just won't watch. I really miss the original panel!
Posted by: Cici | September 23, 2010 at 10:07 PM