Simon Cowell Rocks the Vote

Producer says he's got a better voice than Mitt Romney

(NEWSER) - If the whole presidency thing doesn't work out for Barack Obama, he could have a future in show business. American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe was duly impressed with the president's brief rendition of "Let's Stay Together," he said yesterday, in a tweet spotted by Politico . "@BarackObama we loved your vocal performance so much we'd love to invite you on to #AmericanIdol this Season for a duet with Al Green." More»

Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, Steve Jones all get the boot

(NEWSER) - It was a "bloodbath" at X Factor yesterday, Nikki Finke writes at Deadline , with host Steve Jones and judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul all getting the ax. Apparently Simon Cowell himself made the decision to clean house, according to the Hollywood Reporter . Cowell and LA Reid are the only two judges who will return for the second season of the reality competition, which has garnered not-great ratings. Insiders tell the Reporter Abdul was seen as "irrelevant to the mix," and add that Cowell wants bigger celebrities on the panel. More»

Idol Judges Will Reunite for His New Talent Reality Show

(NEWSER) - It will be just like old times: Paula Abdul will join Simon Cowell as a judge on his new talent show, the X Factor, reports AP . The move had been rumored , but a source says Abdul will indeed be at the judges' table when the first taping takes place Sunday in Los Angeles. The show, based on a British version, will debut on Fox in the fall. Singers will vie for a $5 million record contract. Click to read about how one of the new American Idol judges is the show's best ever . More»

Deal isn't finalized, but Cowell says he's 'always wanted' her

(NEWSER) - The Simon Cowell-Paula Abdul reunion is almost on, according to an exclusive interview Cowell gave to Nikki Finke. The former American Idol judge says that while the deal is not yet done, he definitely wants Abdul as a judge on The X Factor, the US version of his hit UK show debuting this fall on Fox. "I've always wanted Paula. Always been very vocal about that," he tells Finke. "Always loved working with her even though she can be a pain. I don’t know what it is about her, but I've always clicked with her. You just have to get that chemistry, and she's right. I've never found anyone better than her." More»

But ultimately, the show isn't much different, critics say

(NEWSER) - American Idol’s two new high-profile judges debuted last night, and critics, for the most part, yawned:

• “Losing Simon Cowell from American Idol was like losing Alan Alda from MASH,” moans Ken Levine on the Huffington Post . In his place, we have Jennifer Lopez, “a vacuous former movie star/former recording star,” and Steven Tyler, “a walking cautionary tale to not do drugs/alcohol/glue/mushrooms/tobacco/cannabis/electric bananas/sleep deprivation for five weeks in a row.” Between them and original judge Randy Jackson, “there wasn't one insightful comment.”
• The introduction of the new judges was “labored, long, and almost painfully lighthearted, like a divorced husband awkwardly presenting the new wife to his grown but unforgiving children,” writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times . And Tyler’s “bad boy reputation” was overplayed with a montage of him “leering and flirting … he looked too much like a long-haired version of Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi.”