Posts Tagged ‘Simon Cowell’
Simon’s Ditching “Idol”
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
How will we be able to watch “American Idol” without Simon Cowell’s snarky remarks? After this next season, we’ll have to find out, because the acerbic judge plans to make his exit at the end of 2010.
Simon’s brother Tony broke the news on his podcast “The Cowell Report,” saying “Simon will leave Idol at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of ‘The X Factor’ to U.S. TV in 2011. As I sit here in the sunny Caribbean with my family, a press statement is being prepared, which will confirm what everyone expected.”
So how will the show go on without Simon? I predict another sharp-tongued music biz insider will be recruited to fill the Brit’s empty chair.
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Simon’s Big Payday
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
“American Idol” judge Simon Cowell will have the opportunity to sharpen his tongue on another season of contestants—and be paid very well for it.
The NY Daily News reports the acerbic Brit is getting a whopping raise for his services, up from $36 million last season to $144 million for the next.
So at least one more batch of “Idol” hopefuls will get their hopes dashed by Cowell, while Randy mutters “Dawg,” and Paula looks loopy. Isn’t that what keeps us watching?
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Ratings Down For “Idol” Finale
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
If Simon’s calling in to vote for Adam, he’s a little later. America (or more likely, a lot of fast-texting tweens) voted for the non-threatening boy next door instead of the guy who could really sing. But even controversy couldn’t keep the ratings for the “American Idol” finale from sinking.
According to Reuters, last night’s show drew the smallest audience since 2004. The “Idol” 28.8 finale lured million viewers, down from 32 million last year. The show made a few changes this season—none of them popular with fans. The addition of fourth judge Kara DioGuardi has been widely panned, and it will be no surprise if she isn’t asked back for season nine.
The water-cooler talk following the finale has been centering on runner-up Adam Lambert, and why he lost. But the rocker with the black nail polish and guyliner is likely to have the last laugh. And the longer career.
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Is “Idol” Fixed?
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
Simon’s not talking—but somebody behind the scenes at “American Idol” is. The NY Daily News reports that an “AI” staffer has been blabbing that this season’s final four have already been chosen—even though 11 contestants still remain in the running.
The lucky four are, not surprisingly, Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert and Alexis Grace. So who’s going to win? According to the snitch, it’s between Gokey and Grace. She told the Daily News why.
”Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds are better singers and musicians than Gokey and Grace, but they’re too much like past winners and ‘A’ successes. Adam’s too close in style and sound to Chris Daughtry, while Lil Rounds is a dead ringer for Fantasia. Even their background stories are similar! The producers really want it to be Danny or Alexis. They think they’re very commercially viable, have a good image and a great story.”
But what if America votes one of them off before the finals? Maybe that’s why the judges have the chance to save one contestant from going home. But what will they do if the viewers vote off two of the fave four?
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“Idol” Tops Obama
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
The TV networks have known for years that ”American Idol” is a sure ratings champ, but last night they found out that the show is even more powerful than the President. On Tuesday night, “Idol” beat out prime-time coverage of the presidential inauguration on ABC, and also beat the other networks’ inauguration coverage for the evening.
According to early data from Nielsen Media Research, ”Idol”scored an 8.9 rating/22 share among adults 18-49 and a 12.1/18 in households, with a total audience of 22.4 million viewers in the 8 p.m. slot. ABC’s “The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration” averaged a 3.7/9 in the same demo and a 7.9/12 among households, drawing an audience of 12.6 million from 8-10 p.m.
But does this really show the strength of ”Idol” or the fact that by 8 p.m., the inauguration coverage had been going on for more than 12 hours?
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