Paula Abdul News Roundup! Plus, The Contestants Tweet for Paula

Those figures could be fake leaks from TPTB to try to defuse any negative press. But if true, and Paula turned down that kind of money because she wanted what Ryan was getting, then she’s an idiot. Ryan has a production deal. Paula does not. I smell the ghost of David Caruso and Suzanne Summers in the air. Maybe Paula can wait 15 years for her next resurgence too.
:doh_tb: :wallbash_tb:

$5 mil a yr to tell people they look lovely and at least they had fun? where do i sign up?

I already miss Paula

I wish she would just come back so our show will keep going on.

I officially don’t care one way or the other if Paula stays or if she goes. For me, it’s always been about the contestants.

Potential upside: If this means Simon might behave professionally and actually deign to pay attention to the kids, perhaps the change will be good for the show in the long run.

Paula is worth more than $5 mil a year to the show. The difference between having her and having Kara on the judges table will definitely be more than $5 million in show related revenue.

$5 mil a yr to tell people they look lovely and at least they had fun? where do i sign up?

Well, I’d rather have $36 million a year to tell people they’re horrendous and shouldn’t even be trying to do music. But then again I don’t have the charisma to pull of what either of them do.

She is not worth more then Ryan in my eyes. Ryan has the most responsibilty out of the 4 (now 3)

She will never ever have another opportunity to make the same kind of cash, IMO.

Jim Cantiello gave a shout out to mj!

Jim wants her to stay (or he wants her job ). Slezak wants her to stay. Richard Rushfield wants her to stay. Lyndsey Parker wants her to stay. Ryan Seacrest wants her to stay.

Sigh. Come back, Paula!

I can see Paula having one of her Hey Paula “People need to start treating me like the treasure that I am” meltdowns. However respect doesn’t pay for her expensive lifestyle and to turn your back on $5.5 mill a year for respect is foolish. There are very few people in the business getting offered that much money for so easy a job, and to turn it down because Ryan and Simon are getting more is downright childish.

It’s going to be a “He said-She said” thing with Paula and the show. Who knows what really went on . I think American Idol will survive if Paula really is out.
I am not sure if Paula will continue to be prominent in the Entertainment business if she is out of the show.

But hey, as I understand she is a Grammy winning choreographer or something, so maybe if this is her passion she can go for it now.

For me a wiser move would be to stay on at AI for a year for a salary at least double whatever they are giving Kara (for the status ) and then ask to choreograph all the group numbers and showcase Paula skills on this. Be very lucid and give great comments and then after a year leave the show.

Even NPR thinks Paula is a story! The Hollywood Reporter‘s Andrew Wallenstein thinks it’s a disaster for the show and for Paula:

Promise Of A New Day: Abdul Quits American Idol

Far be it from me to pass judgment on a professional judge, but here’s my verdict: I’m amazed Paula Abdul lasted this long. Half the time she’s incoherent or just plain nuts.

You would think the only possible logical conclusion here is that her departure is the best thing that could happen to Idol. Now the show’s young musical talents can finally have the sober-minded assessments they deserve from Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi and Simon Cowell. But when has logic ever ruled American Idol?

What makes Idol IDOL isn’t its integrity as a talent show. It has none. Its true appeal is its ability to prompt mass rubbernecking in the absence of talent and integrity. No one delivered train wrecks better than Paula Abdul. Sure, Cowell has memorable put-downs from time to time, but what really got people talking at the water-cooler was Paula off the rails. Exhibit number one: the time during the 2008 season when she complimented Jason Castro’s second performance, which was odd because he hadn’t sung it yet.

Paula Abdul’s ability to self-destruct isn’t Idol’s biggest liability; it’s its biggest asset.

The Castro incident was actually worse than that: she CRITICIZED him (a rare thing for Paula to do EVER) before he actually sang.

Linda Holmes has a blog post too on Monkey See.

Billy Bush tweeted this about an hour ago:

Just spoke with @dizzyfeet…has made offer 2 Paula. They’re meeting this wkend in vegas 2 discuss. also sed deal may NOT be dead with #idol

Jim Cantiello, thanks for making me laugh out loud at work. Love the 7 stages of grief, as well as the plea to keep himself, Slezak and MJ (!) employed. I love Jim’s take on AI — a fun mixture of fandom and snark.

And did that NBC executive really call Paula an exceptional “piece” of talent? Nice. It warms my cynical heart to see the lack of humanity in all of this — it really is just about dollars and cents. Not only on the part of Fremantle, but on Paula’s as well.

The Castro incident was actually worse than that: she CRITICIZED him (a rare thing for Paula to do EVER) before he actually sang.

That was one incident. And at least it let us know how scripted all the judges’ comments are.

Those tweets from former idols make me feel sad for others that will come after. Those kids love and needed someone like Paula. This show can be brutal. Just having someone who they think supports them is really important. Maybe they think that Kara adds something Paula doesn’t, but Kara doesn’t have that special sauce, Paula does. Paula is a star, on her own, before the show, Kara is not. Having that special expertise, of success in the public eye, not in the background, is important. If they add another judge, they need to come from a similar place.

They could have offered her more if they had not hired Kara. I am starting to think that they wanted to get rid of Paula and that ´s why they added another judge.

I don’t know why people think they’ll add another judge to replace Paula. Four judges failed big time! Do you all think they’re really going to bring in another newbie?

I’m just gonna throw this out there but.. I would LOVE to see Janet Jackson replace her. She is so sweet and would fit perfectly. America loves Janet.

If you put things into perspective…

A highly successful Idol contestant (post show) would be so lucky to be earning anywhere near 5.5 million a year, and they work their butts off touring, recording, promoting and so on. I think I read that David Cook made close to 2 million last year and Archuleta about 1.5 million. Carrie Underwood made about 14 million last year (highest Idol earner) and yet Simon still makes more than her (and that’s *just* his salary from Idol). It’s really kind of awful if you think about it.

What exactly are the judges getting paid to do and how many hours of work do they actually clock in?

What exactly are the judges getting paid to do and how many hours of work do they actually clock in?

Bring in ratings and revenue.

The uber-overpaid judges need to all get off their high horses. They are not supposed to be the stars of the show!!!!!

I wish they would have kept Paula and gotten rid of Randy – he is worthless IMO.

I will miss Paula but I am so glad they will only have 3 judges again – hope they limit their talking….

@Syesha: No! @PaulaAbdul. Paula your heart is so big. Your presence helped the show become what it is. I wish you the best. We love you!

@Syesha: My Letter to @PaulaAbdul http://bit.ly/5RT9p

——————————————————————————————————-

@ramielemalubay: @PaulaAbdul Was a person who really cared for the talent on the show and brought things down to a personal level. Always inspired us to do

@ramielemalubay: @PaulaAbdul better for future shows, and to always have fun with what we were doing. Such an amazing woman and so happy I had the privilege

@ramielemalubay: @PaulaAbdul of working with her she’s a great woman TY for everything Paula

Bring in ratings and revenue.

I do think Paula is an important member of the show. But I dont think any one of the judges are worth their salaries. But I realize that’s the industry.

cmheart – I don’t know if that is that inequitable with the Idols. Simon, Paula, Randy and Kara all have years of experience in their sector of the music business and have worked hard for their name and reputation. All the Idols are just starting out and don’t have much of a name or reputation yet. Give them 20 years and then let’s see what Kelly or Carrie or any of the others are making. They need a track record to command that kind of money.

BTW, I think the judge’s salaries are obscene too but that’s the way things work out there!

I do think Paula is an important member of the show. But I dont think any one of the judges are worth their salaries. But I realize that’s the industry.

Idol makes $900 million a year… would it have gotten to be this big with a different panel of judges? Doubt it. The judges aren’t everything, of course, but looking at the success of similar reality shows, they’re a large part of Idol’s success. Anyway, it’s not like the money would be going to charity or something if not to the judges. It’d be going to the producers/other AI peeps, who’re probably very well paid already.

Bobbi–
Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have compared a new artist with Paula,Simon,etc… I guess I just meant that in comparison to what each is doing, the money they are making just from the show seems a little preposterous when you put it into perspective of other things. And I’m sure that Paula, Simon, Randy and Kara are all making plenty of money on their own without the show as well. I don’t have any clue as to what all of their yearly-net salaries are.

Of course, the money in entertainment in general is kind of ridiculous anyways…so I guess there is no use even getting into that….

But if true, and Paula turned down that kind of money because she wanted what Ryan was getting, then she’s an idiot. Ryan has a production deal. Paula does not. I smell the ghost of David Caruso and Suzanne Summers in the air. Maybe Paula can wait 15 years for her next resurgence too.

I agree. Paula has been moaning about Idol for a long time. She blamed the producers for making her sit through her stalker’s audition. She blamed Simon for giving her the reputation of being a drunk with his comments. She blamed the producers for her Jason Castro double critique. It follows that Paula would decide she needs a huge amount of money to stay and put up with all this. It also follows that all this is going on in her own head because to the rest of the world, she’s got the sweetest deal there is. The kind of money she turned down would support a small town in style. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it is gone. Paula probably needs another 10 years in the hell of obscurity to figure this out.

I like Maura Johnston’s ‘possible outcome’ that Paula could come back just before the show, after auditions, and give the show a huge boost. It lets us hope for Paula for awhile longer.

I sure feel for Kara. She already got so much flack, now she has to live up to Paula.

Paula was even a headline news item on Sirus/XM’s political channel this morning and they never cover entertainment stories.

Billy Bush tweeted this about an hour ago:

Just spoke with @dizzyfeet’ ¦has made offer 2 Paula. They’re meeting this wkend in vegas 2 discuss. also sed deal may NOT be dead with #idol

Very interesting. Paula backtracking or Idol? Or both?

Very interesting. Paula backtracking or Idol? Or both?

Sounds like Idol to me.

In the context of the people who are really pullling in the big bucks Paula making 2mil a year was a freaking insult! I betcha Randy was making more. Why? And I am one who actually appreciates Randy sometimes. And while I agree that Ryan earns his dough, I think that if they bring in 900 mil in revenue, even half of what she asked for would have been insulting. It’s obvious that they wanted Paula gone. That money they are saying she turned down, I don’t believe it. I think they were still lowballing her, and she walked. Was she silly and will fade into obscurity, possibly, but she also helped make this show, which wasn’t wanted by any of the networks and made it the most envied show of the decade.

The debate of if anyone is worth that kind of money, the answer would be, you are worth what someone will pay. It doesn’t make sense, but it is how our system works. I think more than what they do on the show is how they are part of the brand and they keep that brand throughout everything they do between seasons. They represent the brand. Imho, Paula does it best.

That Syesha blog made me cry. It represents why they need Paula. If Randy is a non entity, and Kara is Kara, and I’ve always said that she always seems like she rues the fact that she never broke as a recording artist, and that failure resonates in her critiques. Whereas, Paula was a success, a huge success, and she knows that part of the industry that Kara has only seen from the outside looking in. Simon isn’t even interested anymore, and truthfully not that interesting either. Paula brought the heart, and the funny to this show. It sucks that they booted her. I am ready to storm the idol castle, with a torch in hand, lol. I want to grab Kara’s torch and extinguish it, and boot her ass from the island, whoops, wrong show, but you get my drift. I want my Paula!

Finally, even though I think the thought of a blogger replacing her would be interesting, imagine the undermining that would be done of said judge with the competing bloggers scorned fans! The other thing is that in the scheme of things they aren’t famous enough….and I don’t think they should add a fourth judge again. Considering the importance of bloggers to AI, it would be interesting to implement their expertise in some why. If it means fewer songs in the last rounds, like this year, it will be a mistake. I still feel cheated at how they did things this year, and that was because of the fourth judge. Since they have committed to Kara, I think that this is it for Paula, sadly.

I doubt that Paula (or her agent) seriously thought she would get what Ryan was getting (bc of the production deal), but the truth is that she has been a big part of the success of the show from the beginning and the enormous pay disparity between “the boys” and her was, frankly, unfair and sexist. Do Simon and Ryan deserve to make more. Yes. But the issue was the huge amount more. I think that she viewed the pay issue as a matter of respect and fairness (as people do in all lines of work — everything is relative). People will still watch the show, but it won’t be the same without Paula. I think that she was something special for the contestants.

truth is that she has been a big part of the success of the show from the beginning and the enormous pay disparity between ‘the boys’  and her was, frankly, unfair and sexist. Do Simon and Ryan deserve to make more. Yes. But the issue was the huge amount more.

Thank you. The numbers she turned down– $3-4 million a year–wasn’t even CLOSE to Ryan’s numbers. She’s been getting $2 million a year, while Simon has been getting $40 million. She may have been getting paid less than RANDY. After eight seasons of AI, I bet she was sick and tired of it. So good for Paula. It’s a matter of fairness and respect, and I doubt she’ll be hurting financially after this decision.

And yes, I agree that this whole debacle is incredibly sexist.

From what I’ve read it’s not 5 mil a year or 10 mil a year…that is bunk.

Also, I read that that Fox/AI/the show said she contacted them about not coming back before she tweeted last night.”

Here’s the article from the NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/arts/television/06abdul.html?em

[snip]

“As the eighth season of ‘American Idol’  began to draw to a close last spring, Ms. Abdul’s representatives told Fox Broadcasting and two companies that produce the popular series, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, that she wanted a significant raise from the $2 million in salary plus another $1.5 million in expenses and other benefits that she was then earning a year as a judge on the show.

What she deserved, her representatives said, was a package that would put her closer to parity, if not on par, with Simon Cowell, who earns an estimated $30 million annually from ‘American Idol.’ 

In the end she got an offer of close to $5 million a year, far below what Ryan Seacrest, the show’s host, got last month when he signed a contract with 19 Entertainment for $10 million a year in salary and another $15 million over three years for other production deals and rights to his image.

Feeling unappreciated, Ms. Abdul said on Tuesday that she would rather walk away from the biggest stage on television after eight years. Shortly after telling the ‘Idol’  producers that she could not accept their offer, and with auditions of potential contestants for the ninth season scheduled to begin this weekend, Ms. Abdul told the world via Twitter that she was leaving ‘American Idol.’  ”

[snip]

Too bad. She’ll leave a void. Simon won’t seem nearly as clever trying to pick arguments with Kara because Kara isn’t as ditsy as Paula. She had a couple of moments, but nothing like Paula’s.

Ditto every word you typed, abbysee!

Dusty, that’s the impression I got too. All the numbers were for a multi-year package and not that much of an increase. The 30% sounds high but when you do the math, not that much comparatively speaking.

Dusty, that’s the impression I got too. All the numbers were for a multi-year package and not that much of an increase. The 30% sounds high but when you do the math, not that much comparatively speaking.

I just edited my post to quote the NY Times…so I deleted what I wrote about her compensation from what I’ve read. There’s also something in the Washington Post…

Here’s the Washington Post’s article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/08/05/ST2009080502954.html

[snip]

Abdul had been making about $4 mill a year as a judge and reportedly had tried to up that to $20 million in current talks; last word was that she was seeking about $12 mill. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, Abdul walked away from an offer to increase her salary 30 percent to return the show.

Judge Simon Cowell recently struck a new deal that reportedly will pay him about $45 million. Heck, even show host Ryan Seacrest scored $30 million over three years for hosting, and half again as much in his new pact for merchandising rights to his mug.

[snip]

I think the $4 mil is salary plus expenses.

I think that she viewed the pay issue as a matter of respect and fairness (as people do in all lines of work ‘” everything is relative).

I agree, and I’m proud of her for taking a stand on principle. I agree too that there is a degree of sexism here.

But I also strongly believe that the new peeps at the head table don’t view the show in “Paula” (aka human) terms anymore. I still remember, is is Mike Darnell? Anyway his reaction of sheer glee watching one of the finalists (Alexis?) singing for (her life) a potential save. It was terrible and painful to watch, and it took all the joy out of the contestant’s sing off (typically one of the best performances they give (see Allison Iraheta’s Cry Baby) because there’s no pressure.) And the guy LOVED it, thought it “great TV.”

That’s the Idol we’re dealing with now, and for that Idol Paula has no real place — certainly not a valuable one. I, on the other hand, agree with abbysee that no one else brings to the table (and the contestants) what Paula brings, and I sincerely believe that looking back one day the decision to devalue her (force her out) will prove to be a mistake.

The debate of if anyone is worth that kind of money, the answer would be, you are worth what someone will pay.

And it has become obvious that 19E doesn’t think that she is worth the money she wants.

For years, Paula has been my favourite judge. I don’t think it’s necessary to be as rude as Simon and his “it’s a singing competition…no, it’s a personality competition…no, it’s a looks competition…no, it’s a…” flip-flops annoy the crap out of me. Randy just doesn’t say anything so he’s kind of out of the equation. But, how depressing is that? Paula is my favorite judge just because the others are so horrible.

And then, I saw some clips of “Hey, Paula” that MJ posted and I was stunned. I saw her freak out about not being treated as the “treasure” she is. I saw her freak out at the people at QVC because they sold all her trashy jewelry and now she had nothing to give the Idols (because she couldn’t spend any of her own money to give a gift and it’s not all just free advertising for her trashy jewelry to foist it on the poor unsuspecting Idols…Tatiana excepted). I saw her leave it up to her hairdresser to meet with her interior decorator and then freak out when she didn’t like the results and force the interior decorator to undo all the changes. In short, I realized that there are a lot more layers to Paula than “the nice judge”.

Finally, Season 8 came along and I hated all the judges for their shennigans. I came to peace with one or all of them leaving. Sometimes, you need a shake-up. I hope that she isn’t coming back because this show needs less drama about the judges and more singing. Gah!

Then they can take her salary and spend it to get songs cleared faster (or cleared at all), stop paying the Idols scale, pay some of the travel costs for the friends and family (since they use them to sell the show), up the clothing budget (seriously, $400 for a show-quality outfit, accessories and a pair of shoes? Works for Kris, but I would have trouble meeting that budget) and spend the rest of the moolah buying those mosquito nets for the kids in malaria infested regions they keep featuring on the show. They won’t do it, but a girl can dream.

Meanwhile, Paula can live off the free crap they hand out at those gifting suits she is forever visiting.

Is it Season 9, yet?

I was hoping Kara would not be back. I could never get used to her. I know Paula can say some really “out there” things but she’s been a staple of the show. I just wish that the contestants were able to sing whole songs and the judges would take up less time. Randy and Simon do a good job of being right to the point but the girls are always long winded. Kara is just as long winded as Paula.

I don’t take the point of view that Paula is foolishly throwing away a good deal…I think she probably knows what she is doing.

My understanding is that Paula really pulled herself together this year on the show. I had assumed that this was out of competition with Kara, but I’m not so sure now. I think maybe she was improving her marketability for some kind of new show of her own.

At this point I think it is a mistake for AI to let her go. I don’t think it would be viable for them to do a season with Simon/Kara/Randy. If you’re going to have a Simon, you have to have a Paula. Kara can’t do it, I don’t care much about her either way but I don’t buy her as a warm and caring person on the panel. Randy doesn’t really care. So I think they have to replace her. There will be some initial interest from the audience to see how it goes, but that person is going to have a tough time I think, and not necessarily in a way that will create the kind of drama that keeps an audience interested.

I’ve never watched American Idol until this last season and was expecting Paula to be ditzy. However, her judgment and taste seemed the most accurate of all. She (and Randy) were the only two judges who initially liked Adam. Without her there, it’s likely that he wouldn’t have made it past the auditions.

She brought a human compassion to the show and made it clear that she really cared about the contestants. From what I’ve read, she’s the only one who’s kept in touch with the contestants after their stint on Idol in a personal way.

That said — my future hopes for Paula:

(1) That she’ll be hired by Adam Lambert to be the choreographer for his tour and all of his music videos!

(2) That she’ll join “So You Think You Can Dance” as a judge

(3) That she’ll have so much business that when American Idol goes under (and it will eventually), she’ll be set for life!

Paula – you impressed me so much this past season. I don’t understand their thinking – but I wish you tons of adventure, fun, and creativity!

Then they can take her salary and spend it to get songs cleared faster (or cleared at all), stop paying the Idols scale, pay some of the travel costs for the friends and family (since they use them to sell the show), up the clothing budget (seriously, $400 for a show-quality outfit, accessories and a pair of shoes? Works for Kris, but I would have trouble meeting that budget) and spend the rest of the moolah buying those mosquito nets for the kids in malaria infested regions they keep featuring on the show. They won’t do it, but a girl can dream.

If that was even a possibility, this wouldn’t be such a bitter pill to swallow. As for that silly show, I never saw Hey Paula, so it would never color my view on her importance to American Idol. I’ve always known that you really don’t know celebrities, and a reality show that is made strictly to feed the viewing public’s desire for train wrecks and rubbernecking, is hardly reality, and therefore really irrelevant in whether we know her at all. What I know from the show is that she tries to be fair. She tries not to shatter people, and when he must be negative, she gives it with a lump of sugar. In this nasty ass industry, I think these kids all seem to think that it/she was important to them.

That said ‘” my future hopes for Paula:

(1) That she’ll be hired by Adam Lambert to be the choreographer for his tour and all of his music videos!

YES! LOL

What I know from the show is that she tries to be fair. She tries not to shatter people, and when he must be negative, she gives it with a lump of sugar. In this nasty ass industry, I think these kids all seem to think that it/she was important to them.

This! She is kind because she has empathy. She has empathy because she’s been there. That’s what she has that the others don’t. To devalue that on a show like this? Beyond comprehension.

so many numbers flying around. im confusing overall contract totals w. amounts per year.

ok- maybe someone can help me out…….

So Cowell recently signed a $45 mil contract…is that for 3 yrs? meaning 15 mil per year? yet Paual’s rep is quoted as saying he makes $30mil per yr….does anyone have an official or credible report? does simon have any production, ownership rights to Idol?

Ryan…$10 mil per year $15 mil for extra projects for 3 years. that seems resonable considering he sold them his soul, i mean “image”.

Randy????? i cant find anything on his contract (past or present)

Paula….was she making $2 or 4 mil per year? i keep reading different numbers from diff sources. she wanted $12mil per episode, yet they only offered her $5?? is that correct?

As much as love Paula, its a bit unrealistic to want as much as Simon. As MJ pointed out, the show is bigger than all of these clowns involved. HOWEVER, I would wager Simon is a huge draw for most people (even those who hate him and find he has nothing relevant to say). I cannot see Idol working w.out Simon, same cannot be said about Paula or Randy.

Her focus should be Randy…if he’s getting more than her, then I call BS.

No tweet from Jason? LOL.

Kara is awkward. A milquetoast. Predictable. Boring.

Paula is a lioness. An endearing, wacky lioness. She has flavor. And she actually has her own fans. Heh.

Sure, the appropriate salary is simply what the market will bear. But if I could control the market, I would say: A) Simon is worth 2-3 times that of Ryan; B) Simon is worth 3-5 times that of Paula; C) Simon is worth 5-7 times that of Randy; and D) Simon is worth 7-10 times that of Kara. Jmho.

“We wouldn’t rule anything,” said Paul Telegdy, Executive VP of Alternative Programming and Production for NBC and Universal Media Studios. “Paula is an exceptional piece of talent.”

Thank God he said “talent” — I thought he was going to say something else!

From EW:

Say what you will about Paula, but on a gut level, she was like the crazy aunt who shows up every Thanksgiving and leaves you clenching your jaw wondering what off-the-wall, inappropriate thing she’s going to say next.

From The Wrap:

Sometimes family members who might seem annoying or maddening can turn out to be sorely missed when they’re gone. My Uncle Freddy often made holiday dinners tense with his drama, but now that he’s gone– he died before he turned 60– I’d give anything to have him back at the table.

I wonder how Paula feels about being compared to everyone’s crazy aunt and/or uncle today. And they’re trying to be nice!

Paula’s departure is a lose/lose for everybody. The show almost self-destructed this season when the new producers monkeyed with the format and imposed Kara, who is almost universally disliked. There were three things this year that rescued Idol after the producers sabotaged it: Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, and Kris Allen.
So now the mindless and obnoxious Kara will give us another reason not to take Idol seriously, in addition to the Bible Belt demographics and voter fraud.

abbeysee, I totally agree with what you wrote.

When AI first came out, Paula WAS the biggest name in the cast, at least in America. Yes, we knew Randy Jackson as a good guitarist and session musician. Simon Cowell? Wasn’t he the guy responsible for Teletubbies? Ryan Seacrest was a late night DJ.

Knowing what the crew gets paid for these shows, it shocks my how little (yes, l said little) Paula was making and how undervalued she was.

I’ll miss her on the show, but personally I think she should continue the walk. As a woman, I will applaud her. I think SYTYCD is an excellent direction for her to go and I hope she and Nigel come to a meeting of the minds.

Jim Cantiello I love you… thats all..

Adam hire Paula to be his choreographer??????? Talk about a lose/lose. Why in the hell would an up and coming possible star hire a has been, 5 minutes of fame, looney tune, half ass dancer, wacko, addict, know nothing to start their career? Oh right – her ridiculous, distracting, not on-beat dancing during every contestant’s performance is supposed to show that she is a “choreographer? Oh wait, since she is obviously under the influence or just plain disturbed most of the time, maybe she can choreograph – and I use that term very loosely – to stage a Grateful Dead concert, spin around until you fall down type of thing? IMO that’s all she would be capable of. Does anyone really think that she was single-handedly responsibly for the so-called Idol group number this year? Furthermore, does anyone really think that it was that good?

Please let her be gone. I started watching during Season 3 and was embarrassed for her every time she tried to speak. I usually left the room because it was waaay too painful to watch. I agree with Spense and Tess from the other thread – whiney attention whore to the worst degree. I spent the weekend with friends and family who are not on the internet like we are. When the possibility of her being fired (because IMO that’s what really happened to the greedy bitch) came up, every single one of them said “thank God. I sure hope she’s gone. I’m tired of watching her babbling. What is she on.”

And as said here before – obviously the caring, nurturing, all about the contestants, made the show an international hit, wacko cared more about the money than anything else. I kind of feel sorry for the people who are buying her schtick. I mean does an artist who wants people to take them seriously announce a major career change via Twitter? Puleeeeeease.

I think selling her god awful jewelry on the home shopping network is exactly where she belongs.

Adam hire Paula to be his choreographer??????? Talk about a lose/lose.

This. What I don’t understand is that all these ideas, be a judge on SYTYCD, choreography, judge AGT, etc., Paula could have been doing for the last eight years. American Idol is a 16 week gig. Paula had the rest of the year to develop projects, star in other reality shows, choreography for everyone under the sun. Simon judges 2 other shows and is producer of even more. Ryan produces other shows and is on the radio. Randy produces an MTV show and still works in the studio. Even Nigel went out and started his own show. The only one who hasn’t made good use of her off time from Idol has been Paula. Now Paula is suddenly going to be bombarded with great opportunities and make more money than she ever did on Idol? Not going to happen.

Oh, American Pie! Such a classic and only Jim Cantiello is aloud to take liberties with the lyrics, yes, only Jim…

BTW, Paula makes good with the dancing. More to come…

I’m surprised they didn’t give her the money she wanted. If it wasn’t for her crazy antics Idol wouldn’t get half of the publicity it does every season. She’s a freaking P.R. persons wet dream!!