Simon Cowell will be watching his back – TV’s original Mr Nasty Nigel Lythgoe is back
“He would always be one or two hours late. After four or five years of it, we knew it wasn’t going to happen, so we’d all tootle around, have a nice lunch, go out, or do something else until he turned up.”
Nigel says they would also disagree over selecting contestants. “He wanted real characters he could pick on and I didn’t. I wanted the best talent that we could have.
“I think some years you could put the crazies in there and have him pick on them and other years you just need pure talent.
“The moment the public start to think, ‘Hold on a minute they’re just there for Simon to pick on’, you lose the integrity of the show. I believe in trying to keep the integrity.
“We had disagreements, but even when we disagreed we would go out for a drink or dinner together to discuss it.”
Fox, Time Warner Cable Reach Carriage Agreement
News Corp. and Time Warner Cable on have agreed on a new deal that will keep the Fox broadcast network and a number of cable channels on the operator’s menu.
After a pair of extensions allowed both sides to negotiate past the midnight deadline, an agreemnet was finally struck early Friday evening (Jan. 1).
Financial terms were not disclosed.
In a joint statement released Friday evening, the two parties said they have “agreed in principle to a comprehensive distribution agreement, ” one that also includes carriage for Bright House Networks’ 2 million customers.
“We’re pleased that, after months of negotiations, we were able to reach a fair agreement with Time Warner Cable–one that recognizes the value of our programming, ” said Chase Carey, deputy chairman, president and COO, News Corp.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
The favorites to replace Simon on ‘Idol’
Who will replace Simon Cowell on “American Idol”? Bookmaker.com, a leading online gambling site, has a line for those who want to wager. Piers Morgan is the favorite at odds of 2-1 (bet $1, win $2), followed by Sean “Diddy” Combs at 3-1, Quincy Jones at 3 ½-1, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds at 4-1, Simon Fuller at 6-1, Rob Stevenson at 6-1 and Russell Simmons at 6 ½-1. Cowell is quitting “Idol” to star in the US version of his “X Factor.”
Susan Boyle Vs. Taylor Swift Nailbiter For 2009 Sales Crown
As the new year is ushered in, it’s looking like Susan Boyle will celebrate a sixth straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 next week, as industry prognosticators project her “I Dreamed a Dream” album may sell about 150, 000 to 165, 000 copies by week’s end on Sunday (Jan. 3) night.
As we’ve been reporting, Boyle’s “Dream” has been swiftly catching up to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless, ” which is currently the top selling album of 2009. Now, with one week left to go, it’s looking like “Dream” may fall just a bit short in the race.
Presently, “Fearless'” 2009 total stands at 3, 157, 000, while “Dream” is at 2, 982, 000.
With “Fearless” projected to sell in the neighborhood of 65, 000 to 75, 000 this week, it looks like Boyle’s “Dream” will not close the gap between the two, and “Fearless” will remain the year’s top seller.
Adam Lambert Prepares for a Fabulous 2010 (VIDEO)
Adam Lambert started the new year’â€indeed, the new decade’â€off with a bang last night, performing at the Gridlock New Year’s Eve bash at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
Before wowing the crowd with his golden pipes and electrifying stage presence, the American Idol fave shared his New Year’s resolution with reporters outside.
How does Glambo plan to improve his already awesome self in the coming year? Click on the video to find out!
Adam Lambert Rings In 2010 In L.A., His Way
Adam Lambert may have gotten booted off ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special after angering the network with his racy American Music Awards performance, but fans lucky enough to make it to Los Angeles last night for Paramount Studios’ big New Year’s Eve Gridlock event got to see the real, uncensored Adam perform. During his headlining Gridlock NYE concert there were a couple of swear words, a sly slurp from a flask, enough glitter to choke a unicorn, and probably a few more pelvic thrusts than any major network would have been comfortable with, even after midnight…yep, this man knows how to party NYE-style, all right.
Adam Lambert gets boozy at New Year’s Eve gig
Now now, I shan’t deprive you of your Glambert fix entirely. I’ll have you know that Adam looked dashing in his silver suit which had just the faintest New Year’s sparkle for that festive vibe, that he kissed Pamela Anderson at midnight (no tongue, as far I could tell), took several swigs of a flask he had stashed in his jacket and told the crowd, “You all better be wasted right now!” Oh yeah, it was that kind of night. Here are some choice bits from my brief convo with the man of the hour and a full set list.
Adam Lambert lights up New Year’s Eve at Gridlock party
“Do I look like a firework?” Adam Lambert cooed from the stage at Gridlock’s fourth annual New Year’s Eve bash. “That was my motivation.”
Sporting his signature finger-less gloves and going a little heavier on the usual glitter and guyliner allotment, the “American Idol” runner-up had his work cut out for him at the Paramount Pictures lot Thursday night: executing his first full set of original music in front of about 4, 500 revelers, each of whom had paid at least $150 to get in and had already downed a few, and making a proper return to the spotlight — complete with fireworks — following the American Music Awards fiasco that ostensibly got him barred from big-ticket television specials like Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
One forgettable New Year’s Eve show
But back to the music. Kris and Allison did two songs. Kris was what you have seen in the past. First of all, he is not Mr. Vegas. I like the guy’s personality and I keep trying to like his music. Really. But watching him in front of the Mandalay Bay performing ‘Live Like We’re Dyin” was painful. Those in the crowd who were swaying back and forth with cell phones in hand appeared to be doing so either because A) they were prompted to; B) they had a bad connection; or C) they, too, were just trying to stay awake. Vegas is not the venue where Kris should be trying to kickstart a musical career.
Allison came on last and just managed to squeeze in two numbers before the programming went to the next show at 12:30 a.m.
Bless her little L.A. heart, Allison tries, but I was so distracted by her hair I could hardly figure out the song. The flaming red hair was all over the place and mostly over her left eye all night. Sometimes it simply covered her face and you couldn’t tell if she was facing the camera or headed backstage. Maybe the name of the song should have been ‘Annoying’ cause that would have fit the ‘do.
New Year’s Eve 2010: Who did you spend it with — on TV?
Who did you ring in the New Year with last night? Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest on ABC? Carson Daly on NBC? Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin on CNN? Or are you a Time Warner Cable subscriber? In that case, you counted down to the minutes to midnight to see if your Fox affiliate would go blank (it didn’t, as negotiations over broadcast fees stretched beyond the 12 a.m. deadline). Here at EW.com, we watched all the festivities, so you could go to bed early. Below, a morning-after recap:
GLEE to Feature Episode of Original Music in Next Installment
GLEE creator Ryan Murphy has revealed to Billboard.com that the next installment of GLEE, beginning April 13, 2010 on Fox at 9pm, will feature a whole episode of original music.
Says Murphy:”I’ve had a lot of calls from songwriters, to the point where it’s kind of embarrassing and ridiculous, ” he says. “So we’re writing an episode called ‘Original Song’ where the teacher asks the kids to write their own piece of music. Diane Warren is going to do two big ballads, and if it works, we’ll see what happens . . . but we won’t do it all the time.”
One writer who may be contributing to the episode is Ryan Tedder of the band OneRepublic, who co-wrote the song Halo with Beyonc that appeared on GLEE as part of a mash up with Walking on Sunshine.
