Welp. To quote the legendary rock band, the Who? Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. American Idol brass is narrowing down the contenders for the season 13 judges panel, and the names sound super familiar.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer Lopez, who was a judge for seasons 10 and 11, is at the top of the list. But talks between producers and Jlo’s people have broken down-over money, of course. Jennifer made around 15 million dollars a year when she sat on the panel, and considering Mariah Carey made 3 million more than that…Jenny from the block is looking for a raise. OY. Who needs her.
Keith Urban, who judged last year, looks set to return. And the show might add Will.i.am, who served as a mentor for the first two seasons of The Voice UK. God no. He’s a chucklehead and soooo annoying. But reportedly, he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll return to that ratings stinker. Hit pop producer, Dr. Luke, is also in the running, but a source tell THR that Idol has “cooled on him.”
New producer, Pers Blankens, who cut his Idol teeth on the Swedish version, is “looking for big names” to fill out the panel. Apparently his line of thinking is “This is American Idol–the biggest of the franchise. The judges should be the same.”
The “bigger is better” philosophy hasn’t helped Idol ratings so far, so why keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results? Some call that insanity.
As far as Idol alums, are concerned, Jennifer Hudson, who was rumored to be close to finalizing a deal, is still in the running. But, Blakens and fellow newbie producers, Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Pragar--who have experience producing big live events for MTV–have soured on the all-alumni panel idea. Although, THR claims that as recently as two weeks ago, talks with season 8 alum, Adam Lambert were still ongoing.
UGH. Just find smart, funny, knowledgeable people who have chemistry and know what they are talking about! Being famous is NOT a criteria! Jlo was more interested in promoting her career than having anything interesting or helpful to say. She pulled her punches more often than not. Will.i.am is a clown and a total media whore. And the all-alum idea is a bad one. A varied panel is the way to go. One alum, an industry expert, and another singer would do it. IS IT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT PEOPLE.
I was hoping the purge would bring on some significant and helpful changes that could turn around the sagging fortunes of the show I love. Now, I’m not so sure.
