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American Idol - Season 9

post #1 of 667
8/4/09 at 9:42pm
Thread Starter 
There's probably already a thread, but I didn't see it with the new search.

Paula's out.  I guess she couldn't come to an agreement, though it seems like pretty easy money that's going to be hard to come by anywhere else.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090805/ap_on_en_ot/us_tv_american_idol_abdul;_ylt=Ao_PrIw9nQ79rKgClHN7yK1I2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTJ2ZTkwZnRnBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODA1L3VzX3R2X2FtZXJpY2FuX2lkb2xfYWJkdWwEcG9zAzEEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDZm94c2F5c3BhdWxh
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post #2 of 667
8/4/09 at 10:05pm
Well next season just got a whole lot better, in my opinion.

I hope the rumour that she will land on So You Think You Can Dance is false...
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post #3 of 667
8/4/09 at 11:35pm
Thread Starter 
As a side note, Kara has signed on for next season.  Unless they bring in a new fourth, it'll be back to the three judge system.  Four was kind of a disaster for time management and other reasons.
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post #4 of 667
8/5/09 at 3:08am
Love her or hate her, it won't be the same without her.
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post #5 of 667
8/5/09 at 5:12am
I can't say I loved or hated her. What I can say is that I grew tired of her, then grew to appreciate her just a little bit more when Kara DioGuardi was added. Hopefully they'll go back to 3 judges.

As for Paula's decision, it's an interesting thing when a "disrespectful" offer is still your best option. Should Paula have looked at the reported 30% raise she was offered, or shoujld she look at what Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest were getting. Specifically, did Ryan add more to the show than Paula? The answer from the producers is apparently, "Yes." Pauls obviously feels slighted and unappreciated that she's receiving so much less than her two male counterparts, but it's a complex issue. Is American Idol really the SImon and Ryan show? I doubt they'd give Randy comparable money to Simon and Ryan either.

I think there were two hosts during Season 1 (I've seen clips) and it was kind of painful. Ryan does a much better job, with the possible exception of the slight cruelty in the name of creating trumped up drama. Thankfully, So You Think You Can Dance doesn't do stuff like asking people which group they think they belong to during results shows.
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post #6 of 667
8/5/09 at 7:34am
I think this sucks.  Paula's contribution, while arguably of little actual "judge" value, had immense entertainment value in a train wreck manner of speaking...
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post #7 of 667
8/5/09 at 7:43am
Unless the producers can come up with a way for Simon to "cozy up" with Kara (and make it believable!), this smells like the makings of a big mistake. As always, YMMV, but I can't tell you how many of those 'tween' weeks (after selecting the Top 12, but before the Top 3 - - you know, all of the horrid "Theme" weeks with mentors) I watched, just for the banter between Simon and Paula's train-wreck critiques. Say what you like about her, but IMO, her participation has always been a key ingredient to the program's success. Bear in mind, I watch the program SOLELY for its entertainment value and have never for a minute taken the program seriously when it proclaims that its goal is to sign "the best undiscovered singer in America blah, blah, blah..." I may be wrong, but I think there a lots of others who also feel as I do.
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post #8 of 667
8/5/09 at 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Dial View Post

Well next season just got a whole lot better, in my opinion.

x2

Now if they'd also replace Randy Jackson, the show might be watchable again.
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post #9 of 667
8/5/09 at 10:49am
Paula was easily the only judge worth watching last season--she actually gave constructive advice as well as a few moments of trainwreck entertainment. Randy's a broken record; Simon was so obviously bored last season and the feeling was mutual about him; and Kara was just absolutely worthless on every level.

She could annoy me at times but all in all I'll miss her.
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post #10 of 667
8/5/09 at 11:23am
Word is, her manager basically refused to wait, and Fox hadn't finished negotiating with others.  No talks apparently ever happened before she started being pitched for "So You Think You Can Dance" etc. and that ended it.
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post #11 of 667
8/5/09 at 12:52pm
This is a good thing -- no more rambling, no empty compliments.  But mostly, no more useless and time wasting schoolyard back and forth between Simon and Paula.

Now if they could just get some singers with actual talent and not TV ready backstories, the show could actually get good again.

But I sort of doubt that.
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post #12 of 667
8/5/09 at 1:23pm
One down, still many more to go. 
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post #13 of 667
8/5/09 at 2:35pm
Not disapointed to see Paula go at all.  I wonder if this wasn't the plan all along since bringing Kara in.  Bring Kara in last season.  If Kara does OK, nudge Paula out.  If Kara doesn't do OK, boot Kara and keep Paula.  I have a hard time believing they really planned on going with four judges long-term.

Personally, I felt Kara did fine.  Was she as comfortable as the rest of the judges?  No.  But the three other judges had been doing the show for 7 years.  Kara should get a change to get comfortable with her role just like the other judges did.

I completely wrote Paula off after the episode where she did the lip-sync performance. If you're going to be judging contestants on their ability to perform, and you're a performer yourself, you have no business lip-syncing.  Then a few weeks later, Kara takes the stage and actually sings live.  Kudos to Kara.
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post #14 of 667
8/6/09 at 10:02am
abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Television/Story
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post #15 of 667
8/6/09 at 11:57am
Supposedly Fox wants to continue with a fourth judge and get a replacement. Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham among others will fill in as guest judges during the auditions.
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post #16 of 667
8/6/09 at 12:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnthonyC View Post

Katy Perry

You had me right here.
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post #17 of 667
8/6/09 at 1:58pm
That surprises me (about them wanting a fourth judge).  I don't think I've heard anyone say that having a fourth judge last year was an improvement.
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post #18 of 667
8/6/09 at 2:26pm
As long as Katy Perry doesn't sing, I'm up for her presence on the show.  She's proven that you don't necessarily have to have a great voice to have a decent go at a music career, however short it ends up being.
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post #19 of 667
8/6/09 at 8:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnthonyC View Post

Victoria Beckham among others will fill in as guest judges during the auditions.
 

Ugh, gah, no...
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post #20 of 667
8/7/09 at 8:15am
News shows like GMA, Fox News, CNN have all done polls that say fans are VERY outraged over Paula leaving and think the show will suffer greatly. She was the reason many like to watch because of her chemistry with Simon and how it was cute when Paula would do those goofy things that you had to love her because there wasn't a mean bone there, it was just pure Paula. However the same can NOT be said about Kara. Fans WANTED her long gone from the show and most everyone thought she was stuck up, rude, arrogant and overall a very poor person to have on the show. Her chemistry was none and she had zero appeal to anyone according to the polls. Also, EW did a poll that had 49% of the people saying the were NOT going to watch AI next year because Paula was not there and planned to make good on it. The EW survey found the same results about Kara as well in fans almost DEMANDED they get someone else, anyone else, besides her. What EW noted was if fans made good on NOT watching the show then it could mean a DRAMATIC shift and one that could prove costly for AI in more ways than one. Bottom line on all the polls is if you change what was working with the 3 main judges then you are playing with fire and it could mean dire problems for the show.
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post #21 of 667
8/7/09 at 9:51am
This is the beginning-- of the end-- of American Idol--
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post #22 of 667
8/7/09 at 12:31pm
I understand that Paula isn't well liked by many of you, but I think her leaving the show is going to hurt the show because I think major portions of this show's demographic audience connected with Paula and accepted her as part of the fabric of the show. 

I don't know if this is the beginning of the end for the show, but I stopped watching the show a couple of years ago because it bored me and its entertainment value diminished for me. 
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post #23 of 667
8/8/09 at 9:54am
The fact that "Posh" is already on hand for AI auditions leads me to believe that this was a "done deal" for some time and the producers, for whatever reason, decided long ago to dump Paula. AFAIC, this finally gives me a good reason to "pull the plug" on my support of this program. AI without PA may be fine, but no matter how you cut it, it still won't be AI... at least not to me.
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post #24 of 667
8/8/09 at 12:52pm
Pitchman - I am with you on this.  I barely needed a reason this last season and now I can stop looking for one.   Not that I am pining for Paula, but she added a certain incoherency that I found amusing...
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post #25 of 667
9/9/09 at 6:45pm

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/09/09/ellen-degeneres-joins-american-idol/

 

While she IS entertaining, she really doesn't have any music-biz connection....

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post #26 of 667
9/10/09 at 12:28am
Just ruined the show for me.

Ellen Degeneres? Seriously? Come on. What music pedigree of any sort does she bring to the table?
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post #27 of 667
9/10/09 at 5:15am

Ellen was a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance. She's certainly witty, and I've liked her as a standup comic since way before her sitcom. But even in the one episode of SYTYCD, it grew old quickly. I can't imagine a whole season. I'll definitely have to see how this plays out. Just because 2 things are entertaining, doesn't mean they'll be even more entertaining together. 

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post #28 of 667
9/10/09 at 10:31am
I guess the producers are convinced the public wants vapid, inoffensive commentary.

And I agree, her guest judge stint on SYTYCD was torture.  Not quite Mary Murphy banshee wailing, but Ellen made my skin crawl.

For the record, I liked her sitcom.  But her talk show is unwatchable.
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post #29 of 667
9/10/09 at 12:33pm
While this is bad, it's American Idol, I mean it can't get much worse, it's already bottom feeding TV.  I've had dvr for years, and the show has been watched in less than 15 minutes every week, even when it's two hours long.  I jump to each song, when it sounds terrible, I skip to the next one.  I only listen to watch simon says. 

I might not even tape it this year.  Not because the judges are bad, or paula left, or any of that, but because 11/12 contestants usually suck, forced "theme" weeks, and just lack of any quality.  With SYTYCD at least I feel like the bad contestants still have some talent.
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post #30 of 667
9/10/09 at 3:08pm
I like Ellen. She certainly can't be worse than Kara DioGuardi. I hope she learns a lesson from DioGuardi, though, which is to keep it brief. Paula and DioGuardi talked so much that Randy and Simon could barely get a word in edge wise.
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