This entire situation seems more sound and fury and it's unlikely that anything would come of it. All Stern has in common with Cowell is the ability to be obnoxious and denigrating of other people. Cowell at least had ties to the music industry before appearing as an 'Idol' judge. While Howard Stern does work in radio, he thankfully has not released a CD of himself singing the Beatles' greatest hits. If he has, I missed it.
Most likely this situation is being used by Stern as a bargaining chip for a renegotiation of his contract with Sirius. Stern would be too much of a turn-off for the majority of viewers for 'American Idol'. If he does end up replacing Cowell, then it could signal the beginning of the end of 'American Idol'.
The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:
This isn't a spoiler, because I honestly know nothing about 'Dear John,' but just based on the trailer, I have a feeling that something bad happens to John-- perhaps it's the fact that it's based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. Is this the next 'The Notebook'? Cinematical has their review here.
Eric Dane is in the upcoming film, 'Valentine's Day,' and the character he plays is gay, although you wouldn't know that from the trailer. Cinematical discusses the ugly art of de-gaying films.
For a moment, though, let's consider the possibility. Howard's contract with Sirius XM Radio wraps next January. That contract was in the $100 million neighborhood. Could 'American Idol' fork over a pay-out equal to that? Umm, yes. They make enough. Will they? Hard to imagine. The figure mentioned in the report was $50 million a year, which is what Simon will earn this season, but that's based on the fact that Simon has a track record with 'Idol.'
Luckily, FOX has just released a promo for Hollywood week, which is next week. At that point, DeGeneres joins the judges table for the first time to whittle down the 181 people who received Golden Tickets to 24 semi-finalists. For those of you who have watched the show in previous seasons, you know it's not a quick process: these contestants will be performing over three nights, with the Top 24 not being revealed until Wednesday, February 17.
(S09E08) This is the last episode before we get to Hollywood, and you know it's going to be good for two reasons: Victoria Beckham's back, and they start it off with "Pants on the Ground" (Although, how could they leave the classic Brett Favre version out of the montage?).
However, Beckham is only back for a little while, as this is a montage of auditions from all of the stops that we haven't seen yet. It's kind of weird how it's set up, because even though we haven't seen these people before, this still seems like a strange kind of clip show. In any case, it wraps up the audition process, in which 181 golden tickets were handed out, and gets us ready for the real show to start next week, when Ellen DeGeneres permanently joins the cast, which is what I've been waiting for.
Wow, there were a few whack jobs at the Denver auditions of 'American Idol,' including Bikini Boy (see above). But also an adorable kid who drew pictures for the judges, as well as a few good singers who got sent through to Hollywood. After the jump, let's take a look at some of the Denver auditions.
There seems to be two things that 'American Idol' fans have been waiting for patiently. One was the new season of the FOX show to start (duh), and the second is the episode where Ellen DeGeneres makes her debut as one of the judges (taking over for Paula Abdul). Some fans are probably confused that DeGeneres hasn't already made her first appearance on the show.
Well, relax fans: Ellen's first appearance is set for next Tuesday, February 9. She wasn't been involved in the early audition rounds of the show because most were recorded before she was named as a judge. She began her judging duties when the show went to Hollywood to start winnowing down the huge pool from the auditions. Too bad she wasn't there for some of the early, crazy, awful singers. I would have liked to have heard what she had to say.
(S09E06) So last night, Avril Lavigne made me want to kill myself, and Katy Perry was surprisingly tolerable. I'm thinking things are going to be better tonight, as we have Neil Patrick Harris who is great, and Joe Jonas, who is a Jonas Brother, and as such is supposed to be cute and sweet, right? That's their thing? Anyway, we're in Dallas, home of Kelly Clarkson, so the big question is, does the city have the next Kelly on its hands?
I don't know about that, but I do know that NPH is my new idol. He asserts himself, and is tough while remaining charming. In fact, it seems as though he even takes the lead and goes over Simon's head a little bit: I like that.
Franco appeared in not one, but two seasons of Runway, and was made out to be sort of crazy. He didn't win, and is apparently testing out other avenues in the realm of reality television. He doesn't mention anything about this endeavor on his website, but then again, he hasn't updated his blog since 2007. It doesn't appear as though Franco got a golden ticket, so we'll never know how his singing ability stacks up to his design ability. More importantly, we're missing out on the Project Runway/American Idol mashup that we never wanted.
(S09E05) 11,000 people showed up for the Los Angeles auditions, which actually seems like kind of a low number to me. Maybe they heard the guest judge was going to be Avril Lavigne and said, "eh, maybe I'll skip this one. There's always season 10!" Okay, that's not nice. I'm sure Lavigne is a perfectly lovely lady. But who really cares? All that matters is whether or not she's a good judge.
...Except for the fact that she's a 25-year-old divorced woman who is wearing a hoodie with devil horns sewn into it. Not only that, but she insists on wearing the hood with devil horns sewn into it up on her head, while inside a building, so she can show off said devil horns, while she is evaluating people who are singing their hearts out to her. Because, God forbid she let anyone's hopes and dreams, or you know, professionalism, take precedence over her pseudo-punk lifestyle. Dear Avril, you are no longer 15; please dress and act accordingly. *Deep breath* Okay, that's better. Now on with the show.
Fox continues to use American Idol as a magnet to attract viewers to sample its other shows, including newbies like The Human Target. And last year, Glee. With that same philosophy in mind, Fox's Past Life is getting an American Idol boost. On Tuesday, February 9, Past Life will premiere at 9 p.m. following American Idol.
From a programming point of view, they don't go together. You're not likely to get the same viewer lapping up the songs and shtick on Idol that will get into the psychic/sci-fi vibe of Past Life. But that's not the point because ultimately, this is about getting a sample. Past Life will be on Thursday, February 11-18 after Bones, then get another post-Idol goose on February 25-March 11.
(S09E04) Sweet! Kristin Chenoweth is the guest judge, which means that this episode is going to be awesome. Okay, perhaps that's overstating it a bit -- it is the audition rounds after all, but it's surely going to be just a bit sunnier. I'm really looking forward to this one, especially since Chicago had such a disappointing turnout (I mean, really... 13 Golden Tickets out of 12,000? Seriously?).
Orlando doesn't disappoint, and actually ends up getting 31 people to Hollywood. However, Kristin is only there, for the first day, so I feel a little ripped off. If I have to deal with Avril Lavigne at some point, shouldn't I get at least two days of Kristin Chenoweth? Come on!
(S03E09) We begin the show with Frank Sinatra's, "Chicago," which puts me in a good mood, but it's ruined by a bunch of never-weres sharing their heavily-bleeped opinions of American Idol and the judges. However, I am quickly buoyed by the woman waiting in line who says confidently to the camera, "I believe I have what it takes to become America's Next Top Model." God Bless you, ma'am. Thank you for being real and saying what no one else will: sometimes it's just about being on TV.
You would think that since it's the 3rd time Idol has held auditions in Chicago, that we would end up with a great group of talent, but you would be wrong. They may have used up most of the good ones the first two times, because Chicago doesn't actually turn out too many golden tickets.
It makes perfect sense, too. Simon would be drawing viewers from American Idol to The X Factor from the start. There would be both a curiosity factor, seeing Simon and Paula shoulder to shoulder together again, and there would also be a familiarity factor. It would look and feel like Idol, making fans settle in to the newer show no what matter the differences in the competition.
I'm in Pasadena for the TCA press tour, and it's been one of the most news-packed tours in years. This week, Jason Hughes and Danny Gallagher join me to talk about what's going on in the TV world:
The Late Night Wars, 2010 edition, as we talk about Leno being pulled from 10:00, Conan's "hell no, I won't go to 12:05" letter, and more.
We discuss Simon Cowell's departure from American Idol and what that means for the show and his new show, The X Factor.
We talk about being at the TCAs, and some of the fun (and not so fun) things I've been doing here, and other news that has come out of the press tour.
The American Idol crew stopped in Atlanta to look for their next standout star. Did they find him or her there? It's hard to say, but there were definitely a few contenders among the 9,000 hopefuls who crowded into the Georgia Dome.
R&B star Mary J. Blige sat in as a guest judge, and she seemed to get along really well with the other judges. And of course, she definitely knows her music, not to mention what it's like to stand on a stage and sing for thousands of fans.
Ryan Seacrest also reminded us that not only was he born in Atlanta (they showed a picture that can't possibly be him, because it looks like someone's aunt), but three Idols came out of previous auditions there: Fantasia, Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson. On with the show!
Alright, everyone! It seems like just moments ago that Kris Allen was crowned the new American Idol, but now he and runner-up Adam Lambert are old news. It's time to find the next superstar. This is going to be a big season: It's the first one without Paula, the first one with Ellen, and the last one with Simon. So let's just sit back, relax, and enjoy some auditions!
We start out with a look back at last season, and I'm sure Kara DioGuardi loves the fact that they're opening up with her ripping her dress off onstage with The Bikini Girl. Ryan talks about Paula leaving and shows a clip of Ellen announcing that she'll be the new judge. She looks so cute and excited! I can't wait for her to get on the live episodes. For now, however, we have guest judge Victoria Beckham. Am I the only one who forgets that she talks? I'm just so used to her posing, hearing her voice freaks me out.
On Conan, there really wasn't much to say. "We're in sort of the wowee mode right now," said entertainment president Kevin Reilly. After reiterating what he's said in the past on always being in search of a good five-night-per-week late night program, he went on to say that "I love Conan personally & professionally. Until he makes his decision (on whether to leave NBC), there's no conversation to be had."
But since he knows Conan's people, it's not like he hasn't been talking, at least informally. He classified them as being more in the "commiserating phase;" knowing Reilly's history with NBC (Jeff Zucker fired him three years ago), I could understand the commiseration.
At the FOX exec session, Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice brought an end to the speculation about what's going on with Simon Cowell by bringing him on stage.
The plan: Cowell will leave American Idol after this season, and The X Factor will be coming to the US starting in 2011. He even signed his agreement on stage (see picture on the right).
Some quotes from Simon and the Fox execs after the jump:
Apparently, a lot of viewers wish they were me because they bombarded the FCC with complaints and they have now found their way to a blog dedicated to them called "Why Not Glambert"?
The complaints obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request list the white-hot grievances in all of their non-spell-checked glory from the senior pastor who vowed to "lead my church in a boycot (sic) of ABC" to the parent who was "truely (sic) disguisted (sic)". I wonder if these same people who were so offended by Lambert's performance also don't own a dictionary because it too contains naughty and offensive words like "angina," "masticate" and "pianist."
Love him or hate him, Howard Stern 
The folks at our sister site 
(S09E08) This is the last episode before we get to Hollywood, and you know it's going to be good for two reasons: 
There seems to be two things that 
Fox continues to use American Idol as a magnet to attract viewers to sample its other shows, including newbies like The Human Target. And last year, Glee. With that same philosophy in mind, 
Now that 
I'm in Pasadena for the TCA press tour, and it's been one of the most news-packed tours in years. This week, 
The 
At the FOX exec session, Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice brought an end to the speculation about what's going on with Simon Cowell by bringing him on stage.
Remember when American Idol competitor 
