Howard Cohen has been writing about pop music for The Miami Herald since 1991, and has written the Idol Watch column since 2005. His weekly critique of American Idol and its contestants runs throughout the popular series.
Paula Abdul took some (good-natured?) swipes at her replacement in the Idol's judging booth as she hosted VH1's Divas show. Here's a clip. See what you think.
Follow Howard Cohen on Twitter @HowardCohenPosted by Howard Cohen at 03:39 PM on September 22, 2009 in Paula , The Show | Permalink | Comments (0)
American Idol won four Emmy Awards for its 8th season, with three in the technical fields (Art Direction, Technical Direction/Camerawork and Lighting Direction) and one on-air presentation to director Bruce Gower for his work on the Top 3 episode that saw Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey duking it out for the finals. (Gokey was eliminated that Wednesday; methinks Gower would have really deserved the win had he edited hokey Gokey out of the program entirely).
The program, however, once again lost the Best Reality Program race to Amazing Race which seems to own this award. I thought the Adam factor might finally carry Idol, the most popular reality show and most popular program, period, to a deserved award in this field. Ryan Seacrest, who did a good job this season, also lost in his bid to upset Survivor's host, Jeff Probst.
(Adam photo from Idols Tour in Sunrise; Howard Cohen/Miami Herald Staff)
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Posted by Howard Cohen at 01:26 PM on September 21, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (0)
Posted by Howard Cohen at 12:34 AM on September 13, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (0)
The rumor's true: Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres will be American Idol's permanent fourth judge, replacing Paula Abdul on the podium. She starts after auditions week when the show returns to Fox in January.
The news is now posted on Fox's American Idol site. Photo: Fox/AmericanIdol.com
I'm of two minds on this. On one hand I think Ellen is a vast improvement over Paula. She's lucid, charismatic and has a high TV quotient. She's not a musician, but then again, neither was Paula. She's a music fan and will be most welcome.
On the other hand, I'm against the four judges format. It was a notorious bomb last season, causing the show to run long many times and it makes no sense when there's a tie in opinion. Simon Cowell merely gets double the vote in such an instance, so what's the point of having four judges rather than original 3? The BEST decision would have been to not renew Kara DioGuardi who was roundly disliked last year and had nothing of value to offer the show beyond a rotten disposition and her lousy songwriting skills (don't believe me? Just take another listen to the song No Boundaries she wrote for ultimate winner Kris Allen, who breathed a sigh of relief when producers of the Idols Tour cut it from his setlist.)
That said, I'm once again looking forward to the start of a new season.
Posted by Howard Cohen at 09:42 PM on September 9, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (12)
Spice Girl Victoria Beckham served as a guest judge in Boston for Bostonians who hope to become the next Kris Allen (aka American Idol).
Next up: Mary J. Blige, who sits in the chair with Simon, Randy and Kara in Atlanta.
And on that note, I plan to be on vacation for two weeks so Idol Watch likely takes a hiatus unless I just can't resist. Til then, follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardCohen where I never take a break.
Posted by Howard Cohen at 06:41 PM on August 14, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (1)
Late Tuesday night (early Wednesday morn on the East Coast), an official statement from Fox, FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment arrived on the heels of Paula Abdul's announcement on Twitter that she was leaving the popular program. Time (@TIME) on Twitter posted it:
"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."
Ryan Seacrest, the show's host, found out about Paula's decision the same way most of us did. Via Twitter and his erupting Blackberry. He posted a series of tweets:
"about to go to sleep when I started seeing my blackberry blow up. I have read what u have read and I am shocked and saddened about paula. Idol and the cast have grown with each other over the last 8 seasons..I can't imagine the panel without puala. She's a star @ a great friend. Spoke to randy..hope to speak with paula privately overnight."
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Posted by Howard Cohen at 01:56 AM on August 5, 2009 in Paula , Ryan , The Show | Permalink | Comments (1)
Fox says Kara is returning to Idol for season 9, her second shot in the judge's chair. As for Paula...
... still negotiating. And quiet on the Twitter front.
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Posted by Howard Cohen at 02:57 PM on August 4, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (0)
Can't imagine why, in these times of layoffs and cutbacks, Idol producers wouldn't take the opportunity to cuts costs and ditch fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, who should never been brought on board in the first place. A hack songwriter who only contributed to Idol's running time last season, her contract option has reportedly been picked up by producers and she returns, LA Times reports.
If Paula is to come back, things better get hustling. Filmed auditions begin Thursday in Denver. The show returns to Fox for its ninth season in January.
Posted by Howard Cohen at 02:33 PM on July 31, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (1)
American Idol producer Ken Warwick signs a contract for another three years on the program. But whether or not judge Paula Abdul returns is still uncertain. Read link.
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Posted by Howard Cohen at 03:02 PM on July 24, 2009 in The Show | Permalink | Comments (0)
Posted by Howard Cohen at 04:47 PM on July 13, 2009 in The Contestants , The Show | Permalink | Comments (0)
