Industry mag, Variety reports that “unless there’s an 11th hour change of heart by one of the parties — or Elton John suddenly decides he needs a bit more pocket change” Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are expected to be officially added to the Idol judges’ panel in the next few days.
The “imminent” announcement comes out of necessity. The judges need to be in place by mid-September before the next round of Idol auditions begin.
Randy Jackson’s return had never really been in doubt, while Kara Dioguardi, whose departure was announced Friday before the long Labor Day holiday appeared to be “on the outs” for some time.
Variety reports that insiders dispute the contention that Kara had been kept in the dark by Idol brass, as her father, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York, recently told a New York TV show.
Kara’s exit paves the way for a return to a 3 judge panel, a change returning executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has told reporters he’d like to make.
Our long national nightmare may soon be over peeps–an announcement by the end of the week!
