Paula Abdul, pregnant?

A reader posted a comment on this blog that said the real reason a fourth judge has been added to the American Idol roster is because Paula Abdul is pregnant and due to deliver during the end of season eight finals. The reader claimed to be definite about this. Of course, one can say anything in the blogosphere.

Then the gossip rags said our favorite flakey judge had returned to a boyfriend she had recently split from. Hmmm...

Of course, diligent Idol reporter that I am, I immediately reached out to the Fox/Idol media folks to get an official comment on this, yay or nay or no comment, and ... nothing. No response. Haven't seen word one about any of this in the reputable press either. So, all I can say is stay tuned.

Photo: AP, August 26 in New York

Drama brewing among the judges on Idol?

A wire story from the Fort Worth McClatchy paper suggests potential friction between new Idol judge, songwriter Kara DioGuardi and worn-out Paula Abdul. Given that seemingly every company is laying off people in droves these days, why must Fox and Idol producers add personnell? Randy and Paula's purpose on that show has long since expired. New blood in the eighth season is certainly a good idea -- not MORE blood.

That's my view. Here's the story:

Drama already following new American Idol judge
By Heather Svoko
McClatchy Newspapers
       Is there trouble already brewing for the newly appointed fourth American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi?

       Idol producers announced Monday that the Grammy-nominated songwriter will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul at the judges' table when the show premieres its eighth season on the Fox Network in January.

       DioGuardi, who has worked with Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson, started as a singer, but eventually carved out a niche in songwriting. In a conference call with reporters, she talked about her judging style, but also had to deal with questions about the Paula factor.

       Abdul's sometimes incoherent behavior has raised eyebrows in recent seasons, and interviews she has granted have become increasingly loopy, leading to speculation that she might be replaced. Producers quashed the rumors, saying Abdul wasn't going anywhere. The choice of DioGuardi is interesting because of her connection to Abdul: Earlier in DioGuardi's career, the two co-wrote Spinning Around, a No. 1 hit for Kylie Minogue in the United Kingdom. DioGuardi said Monday that she hadn't yet sat down with the three judges for a chemistry test run, and she hadn't yet spoken with Abdul.

       "I've always had a great relationship with Paula,'' DioGuardi said. "I can't imagine her not being happy with it. ... We were friends, and she was very instrumental in my career in the beginning.''

       But Abdul was singing a more cautionary tune on a morning radio show Monday. According to Us magazine, she told listeners on Phoenix radio that she was excited about the new judge, but "I am concerned about the audience and acceptance. Time will tell. We'll see.''

       After being told of Abdul's remarks, DioGuardi said she wasn't concerned. "She's on a big, big show, and she's just probably pondering what could or could not happen.''

       So why a fourth judge? Producers "wanted to try a change,'' Abdul said in her radio interview. "They always tried for a fourth judge because it followed the format of the original show, (Britain's) Pop Idol. We haven't had much luck with that working, but we're going to give it another try.''

      (c) 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Photo: AP.

Idol Top 4: Hall of Fame Classics

Tonight's theme, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame classics inexplicably allows for David Cook to perform Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf. Unless this is another Hall of Fame, DD is not in the RRHoF. Cook's also tackling The Who's Baba O'Reilly. David A promises a sap fest with Stand By Me and Love Me Tender. Syesha's doing Proud Mary and A Change Is Gonna Come and Jason, who told EW he's ready to go home, as if we didn't all know that, takes on Mr. Tambourine Man and I Shot the Sheriff.

Hope the people involved with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are watching Idol's introductory tribute, given that they are playing Kiss' Rock and Roll All Nite as backing music and Kiss, shockingly, is not a member of the Hall and should be.

Meantime, tomorrow night Maroon 5 and Bo Bice perform on the bloated results show. Go Bo!

David Cook: Hungry Like the Wolf. Typically charmless, vocally monotonous performance. Boring. Paula's comment about watching David grow is as moronic as everything else she says. A problem with this season is that few of these contestants have grown. They all lack spontaneity. This was the kind of growling, unpleasant David performance we get every week. The only one of the remaining four to show some growth lately has been Syesha.

Speaking of which... Syesha: Proud Mary, "covered over 100 times," Syesha notes. Well, yeah. I like the way she phrased the word "turning" on the ballad part, swallowing it down and giving it back warm and full. The rock part was not particularly memorable, tho. Shrieky. Didn't give ol' Tina Turner any reason to worry over competition when she launches her tour later this year. That said, Syesha's the only one I still care to watch. Likable. Has grace, class.

Jason: "There are a few songs on the list I knew," Jason says, once again revealing his total lack of preparation and lack of respect for this show and its viewers. Bob Marley died so he wouldn't have to hear what this little dweeb's done to his song, I Shot the Sheriff. Randy: "For me that was a really karaoke Bob Marley. Dude, nothing special about it and at this point you have to show you deserve to be in the finals." Paula: "I never saw you perform more to the audience, but I wasn't crazy about the performance or the song." Simon: "Stand back. That was utterly atrocious. That is a song you do not touch, the performing and singing as bad as I ever heard, a first-round audition massacre, I don't know what you're thinking."

David A: "A fun song for me to sing," Robo-Singer said about Stand by Me. Technically, the only skillfull vocal of the evening thus far (and I liked the simple percussive arrangement) but I'm over little David. Tired of seeing his stage dad from hell in the audience, tired of David's same facial expressions every week, and his syrupy sound is not for me. But to be fair, he did a much better job than his competitors tonight.

David C: At least he was honest when he said he "could have done so much more" with his last song, the Duran fiasco. Thing is, he probably couldn't. He just hasn't the personality or range. As for his sleepwalk through the Who, it was as fake as the guitar he hangs around his neck as a prop. Even Madonna puts more effort and gets more out of her guitar when she plays it in concert -- and we all know Madonna is no guitarist. As a rocker, Daughtry would eat this Cook alive. Totally unconvincing.

How lame has Idol become this season? Rascal Flatts is in the house tonight, that's how lame.

Syesha: "Top 4, amazing experience, went home after results show and cried my eyes out," Syesha said, leading into Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come. She's best in her low notes where she's sultry and seductive. Unfortunately, she had to give Idol one of its money shots with the last high note held forever for effect. Overall, tho, nice enough. "Trying to be something it wasn't," Randy opined. Paula made Syesha cry with her "welcome to your dream" comment. Simon, in a shocker, agreed with Paula. Thing is, he's probably doing reverse pyschology on the viewing public. Sobbing, Syesha said the song meant a lot to her and how its origins in the Civil Rights movement meant so much to her and reflected how she changed a lot. The positive aspect of this is that unlike the Davids and Jason, Syesha has honest emotions, personality and flair. It'll be shame if she's cut this week. We need her.

Jason: Forgets the words to Mr. Tamborine Man, after saying you can't go wrong with the Bobs, and, unlike Brooke in week's past, this comes across as pure arrogance and contempt. Jason doesn't want to be here anymore, hasn't tried in weeks, and when you think of the better talents who have left so that he may remain, it's just offensive. "I'd pack your suitcase," Simon said. Sad thing is he might not have to. Viewers have blown it so spectacularly this season, this little idiot probably will remain.

David A: "Haven't sung a big romantic song on stage before," David A. said before doing his Robo-Singer version of Love Me Tender. Once again, the notes in the right place but totally lacking in spontaneity, believability or soul.

Tops of the night: Syesha, by far. Cook and Castro abysmal. Archie bland.

Going home: I'm going to go on a limb and predict Jason will go. I have to believe, or at least pray, America gets it right and doesn't go the predictable route and eliminate Syesha.

Neil Diamond Night

The five contestants will sing two Neil Diamond songs tonight. We hear that David Archuleta will tackle Sweet Caroline and America. David Cook will do I'm Alive and All I Really Need Is You (what's that one?) and Jason Castro's Forever in Blue Jeans and September Morn. [Syesha, pictured, fared the best.] I was hoping Cook, the most masculine of the three, would do Neil's Solitary Man or Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon (songs Michael Johns would have been excellent on) rather than the '80s tune he picked.

I wish Randy would stop booing Simon during introductions. After seven seasons it's not funny anymore (never was) and just makes him seem like such a moron.

"For me it's the chance to encourage the singer, the performer," Neil Diamond said.

The contestants will be judged after their second song this time. But not on this blog! We'll get right into it!

Jason: This kid's lack of musical knowledge (has he heard of anyone???) is grating. His performance of Forever in Blue Jeans, one of Neil's jauntier late '70s pop numbers, was the equivalent of hospital tapioca: no body, no flavor, utterly forgettable.

David Cook: "David went for two songs most people haven't heard before," Neil said. That's daring. I know this 1982 Heartlight album track, I'm Alive. I still don't think has a natural rock voice, he forces it, it's not fluid, but that said, I liked his rendition of I'm Alive. He saved it from its original slick production and put grit in it. Good job. But I still don't like Cook's attitude.

Brooke: Not a great vocal on I'm a Believer. Love her look (I would have preferred watching this without the sound) and that she did an uptempo for a change. But so far, Cook's leading tonight.

These songs are just better than these performers and Neil is not coaching, he's just being a nice guy. If anyone has experience it's Neil. Start coaching!

David Archuleta: "Uncertain how to end the song," Neil says of David. He got a little coaching at least. Maybe it's that Neil has such a commanding, deep voice, but hearing all these songs tonight by these lesser talents is rather disappointing, these all feel like sodas without the fizz, including David's strained Sweet Caroline. I'm getting kind of tired of the tone of his voice too.

Syesha: Doing Hello Again from The Jazz Singer and Thank the Lord for the Nighttime from his 60s catalog. Did a rather sweet Hello Again, contemporary R&B ballad treatment. Would I buy it or select this version over Neil's on my iPod? No. But given what we've heard tonight, Cook and Syesha so far are the most pleasing. She did a good job. Edges David C, in fact for round one.

Why is Paula reviewing Jason's second song BEFORE he sung it!! Lane, you were right: She would get all confused and not remember the songs. So embarrassing! "This is so hard!"

Jason: The romantic adult ballad September Morn is so far beyond this little boy's reach it's just plain embarrassing. Would anyone ever believe this guy singing this song to a woman? Would anyone believe this kid's ever BEEN with a woman? He sure doesn't sing this song as if he has any conception of what being in a relationship is about.  And afterward, he doesn't even act as if he cares. The time has come to end this joke and vote this kid off. He doesn't belong on a singing competition. Not funny anymore. "This is not the Jason we put into the competition," Simon said after two disastrous weeks.

Cook: All I Really Need Is You. I'll have to check my CDs to find the origin of this song. But it certainly isn't a jewel in Diamond's catalog. Where's the hook, the melody, the tempo? Cook's mediocre voice, smug delivery, certainly didn't save it. Weakest song of the night and only thanks to Jason, not the biggest train wreck. "I feel like I'm already looking at the American Idol," Paula said and Simon pronounced it "brilliant, made it feel that song was written this year." I don't agree.

Brooke: Is Ryan trying to prompt Brooke's dismissal by reminding viewers of Simon's negative comment on the previous song? Not fair. As for I Am, I Said, kudos to Neil for suggesting that she change the "New York" reference to Arizona since that is her homestate. And her smile, after remembering to do so, was rather infectious. Brooke's I Am, I Said certainly lacked the heft of Diamond's powerful original, but it was not bad. As Randy noted, this song is difficult with all the octave changes and melodic shifts. This performance is in the Top 3 tonight. She connected with the song.

David A: "They're coming to America," he sang, and after this cloying, syrupy Archuleta performance, I'd like to move to Canada. He sings every song the same I'm starting to notice. Calculating move, not unlike Kristy Lee doing God Bless the USA a month ago, playing to the masses.

Syesha: Thank the Lord for the Nighttime. Thank the lord for Syesha tonight. The only one to score twice on her selections. She, like Brooke on I Am I Said, connected with the song and also picked a good one with soul. She's not a great singer but she's got a winning personality, lovely smile, and she's a good performer, maybe the best of the remaining bunch. Cook has his fans, but he's got a cocky side I find to be a turnoff. Syesha, lately, has been a pleasure. Simon says she's a good actress/singer but thinks she might be in trouble tonight owing to less than memorable second song. He might be correct in that she could be voted off, given viewers' lack of taste (keeping foolish Jason in, for instance) but if she goes, it's not because she should.

Prediction: The absolute pits, on both songs, Jason. I'd like to think America has its eyes and ears open and can see the total lack of talent here and save us from another week of this drivel from this contestant. But since this is a popularity contest and Syesha wound up in bottom two last week despite a strong performance maybe Simon's right. Shame.

Paula "stalker" banned from Super Bowl

Proof we're going to hell faster than we thought: Paul Marturano, the creepy guy who recently appeared on American Idol in what appeared to be a stalking of Paula Abdul ("If you were a bathtub I would cauk you" went one of the lines, more or less, as he leered at the baffled judge) has conducted close to 150 radio interviews internationally. He was the lead story on Access Hollywood, and "Paula Abdul's Stalker" was the most searched phrase on Google, MSN, and AOL -- all of this trivia according to a publicist.

Marturano was also recently banned from the Super Bowl by the NFL where he was supposed to be an on-field correspondent for an online radio station. Abdul is set to perform.

If you missed his audition (lucky you) here it is on YouTube (not so lucky you):

New Paula single out

Paula Abdul's first single release since the mid 90s, and her first musical attempt to cash in on her AI fame, is out this week on iTunes. Dance Like There's No Tomorrow will be featured on Randy Jackson's multi-artist album due March 11. The song reveals Abdul's voice hasn't matured since her brief blip of pop music fame in 1989-90. Thin of voice, mindless of content, Dance is a typical electronic-enhanced club bauble.  You know you have nothing to work with as a vocalist when a track requires two main producers and one more handling "vocal production." Three people handling Abdul's voice in the studio and it still sounds thinner than Britney's!

Paula's pooch leads to bad fall

Paula Abdul took a spill this weekend trying not to step on her Chihuaha. The little dog's fine but Paula tore cartilage in her nose and fractured a toe. Simon was making fun of her mishap on Leno last night alluding she might not be there for the season's finale tonight and tomorrow. But a wire story says Paula, tho sore according to her publicist, plans to appear on Idol this week.

Muzzle this woman

This is such an old complaint, six seasons' worth actually, but would someone please fire Paula Ab-dull and replace her with someone who can keep the gestures to a minimum and the inane comments to a minimum?

Or better yet, put her on the new show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? Would be fun to watch the tykes run mental rings 'round her.

Love in? Abdul out?

USmagazine.com floated the rumour that Paula Abdul would be on the way out as a judge and Courtney Love had been approached to replace her. You know you're a mess when producers figure Courtney Love would be the more stable person.

But, fun as this would be, US now reports it ain't so. Love reportedly claimed she had been approached by Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe. He's denying it.

"I did not call Courtney Love and am afraid someone may have misrepresented me. Courtney Love is a very talented artist, but the judges for American Idol are Paula, Randy and Simon. We have no plans to add to or replace any of them," he said in a statement to Usmagazine.com.

Love figures someone must have been punking her.

The Judges in New York

When Simon's rude or funny or unflinchingly honest I love him. In New York he was merely cranky, so-over-this, he wasn't fun at all.

Paula's in redemption mode this week actually coming across as if she knows a thing or two about music. Good advice, not too flaky except for one blowout with grouchy Simon, this was one of her best weeks.

My pal Lesley commented she was pist at Randy's rudeness. Nah, he's just learned some new words beyond "dawg" and wants to show 'em off.

Guest judge Carole Bayer Sager brought out her '80s Dynasty 'do and some sage commentary. She hasn't really had any relevance as a songwriter since the '80s when she scored with a string of schlock hits (That's What Friends Are For, Arthur's Theme, among them) and certainly few, if any, of the aspirants had any idea who the hell she was. Still, it was a missed opportunity that no one auditioned with a rendition of Nobody Does It Better, a song she cowrote for the 1977 007 film. Pretty much everyone sang tuneless crap from the likes of Mary J. Blige et al so it was hard to work up much enthusiasm for the performances.

Finally, host Ryan Seacrest hasn't annoyed me once in two weeks. A record? The start of a good season to come?

Paula Abdul: Queen of Mean?

Paula was gettin' critical in Memphis. You go, girl. 'Bout time.

She didn't even like the guy whose wife just had a baby. Given that he sang a soulful My Girl and had a bald head like Chris Daughtry, in season's past this would have melted Paula's sweet heart.

Paula vs Rosie

Rosie O'Donnell has shifted her attention from Donald Trump to take on Paula Abdul. Seems Rosie noticed what everyone has been talking about...Paula's puzzling twitching, slurring and plain weird behavior on Idol's opening night Tuesday. Of course, Paula's always off on the show but usually it takes a few episodes into the season before the really wacky stuff kicks in. On The View Rosie implied Paula had all the signs of a drunk and that something clearly other than Coca Cola is in that red Coke glass Paula kept drinking from.

What do you think?

Watch the video.

Another Paula meltdown...what else is new?

Everyone's buzzing about Paula Abdul's latest loopy interview, this one on KTVU's morning show program in San Francisco. Paula, twichin' and a-sniffin' and twisting her face like a contortionist, spoke about "overcoming obstacles" all through her career.

Here's another "obstacle" peculiar Paula's gonna have to hurdle. Even the host looked bemused and questioned Miss Abdul about why she was "wiggling" so much in her seat. "I'm a dancer," the loon responded, giggling and looking off camera as if she flirting with some unknown presence.

Flirting with sanity -- and losing, it appears.

This won't, of course, do anything to kill her Idol career. For five seasons Paula has been the show's resident ditz and most useless judge and Fox sticks by her. Ratings are ratings and so long as Idol tops everything else on the tube don't look for Fox to fix Abdul.

However, it would be to Idol's creative and ethical benefit to bounce Paula. There are plenty of other has-been 80s pop stars who could fill her seat and do a better job. Pat Benatar's not doing much these days and, hey, Pat can sing unlike our silly Paula. It would make sense for an actual singer to judge other singers, don'cha think?

Paula also seemed asleep during most of Tuesday's Idol premiere.