Steven Tyler has reportedly been locked into a deal as Idol judge, so why is the Idol brass waiting to announce the big news? Entertainment Weekly may have the answer:
Spokespersons at Fox, Idol, and FremantleMedia all declined comment when contacted by EW, but a source with inside knowledge of the world’s most high-profile job search insists “there’s nothing to announce yet.” In fact, says the insider, Fox execs are hoping they can get the entire panel locked into place, then “make one, big splashy announcement, but they’re not quite there yet.”
So how much longer is the Idoloonie nation expected to hold its collective breath? “If I was the betting type, I’d say there’ll be something official announced by the end of next week. But that can all change at any second, ” adds my source. “Still, what’s the rush? This is, what, the third or fourth time media outlets have ‘confirmed’ the Steven Tyler rumor? All this water-cooler buzz isn’t such a bad thing for a show that a lot of pundits would love to try to paint as finished.” Indeed, to paraphrase a classic bit of Monty Python, Idol‘s not dead yet!
Chemistry between the judges is considered even more important than “star wattage”, particularly to returning executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. “All of us will have to wait and see if the hands behind the show pick ‘em up and lock ‘em into place, ” says EW’s Michael Slezak.
With the signing of Tyler pretty much out of the bag, FOX may make the announcement sooner than they planned. But on the other hand, as EW’s source said, TPTB are loving the buzz, so the drama may be milked for as long as possible.
I dunno peeps, the three person panel of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler is looking more and more likely. What do you think about that? I wish Idol producer’s weren’t so obsessed with landing stars for the panel.
