Britney Spears
Might Britney Spears' comeback trail ultimately lead her to serve as a celebrity mentor to this season's batch of American Idol wannabes? Or, at the very least, might she be one of this season's guest performers, akin to how she recently served up "Womanizer" on Idol's UK counterpart, X Factor?
Simon Cowell shares his honest opinion, after the jump.
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Clay Aiken was "saved" from obscurity by Idol's Wild Card round, which is now back in play.
American Idol is plumbing its past to bolster its future, in the wake of a seven percent audience decline for the previous cycle.
Among the changes on tap for Season 8, premiering Jan. 13, is the resurrection of two elements from seasons gone by — one of which affects game play, the other offering fun (if not deliciously catty) insight into the semifinalists.
As hinted in recent weeks, Season 8 will ...
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Ken Warwick, Paula Abdul
American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick has responded to Paula Abdul's recent comments and, in turn, the tragedy which recently befell a fan of Abdul's, stressing that he never would knowingly put a dangerous person in front of the judges.
Detailing the process by which wannabes are surveyed as they enter the early audition rounds, Warwick told reporters in a Monday conference call, "It's always been that if someone looked like they were a bit dangerous or led us to believe they weren't as sensible as they should be ...
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Simon Cowell, American Idol Gives Back 2008
American Idol powers-that-be have decided to shelve the "Idol Gives Back" charity-centered episode this season because of the ongoing economic crisis and recession.
Industry insiders say that Idol officials didn't want to ask people to donate money when the economy in such dire straights and with unemployment...
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Nigel Lythgoe
She said, now he said.
Former American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe has denied Paula Abdul's claim that the show's execs purposely allowed Abdul's alleged longtime stalker, Paula Goodspeed, to audition for the judging panel during Season 5. Goodspeed was found dead of an apparent suicide near Abdul's home last month.
"You do not take somebody in that room that you believe is a danger to herself or a danger to Paula ...
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Paula Abdul
On Monday, Paula Abdul appeared on Good Morning America and The View to discuss the recent suicide of former Idol contestant Paula Goodspeed and revealed she had been aware this person had been stalking her for 17 years. But, Abdul dropped another bombshell Tuesday morning during an interview on Barbara Walter's Sirius XM radio show, Barbara Live! Abdul claimed that allowing Goodspeed to audition for Idol was "an attempt by Fox Broadcasting, the producers of American Idol, and Simon Cowell to ruin [her] career." (Click here to listen to a snippet from the radio show).
Abdul, who had restraining orders out at times on Goodspeed, explained she asked the producers to not have her on, and against her wishes, they kept allowing her to try out.
The Idol judge also went into the rumors about her drinking, blaming ...
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Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, American Idol
With the eighth season of American Idol now just six weeks away, comments from Simon Cowell and a network exec — as well as a new promo — offer a peek at how things might be just a bit different this time around, especially in the wake of last winter's nine percent dip in the key demos.
Speaking about Kara DioGuardi, the singer-songwriter who will join him, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson on the dais this year, Cowell tells TV's Extra, "She's mouthy, this girl. I'm beginning to ...
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Taylor Hicks
It's been quite a year for Taylor Hicks. After mutually splitting with his record company, Arista, in January, the former American Idol champ took his career into his own hands by starting his own label, Modern Whomp Records, and taking a little music breather to get into acting. And no, there was no From Justin to Kelly monstrosity. Hicks made his Broadway debut in Grease as Teen Angel, the one (role) that he wanted and loved so much that he's joining the musical on a nationwide tour. Before the festivities kick off Dec. 2, the man behind the Soul Patrol chatted with TVGuide.com about jump-starting his acting career, his upcoming, as-yet-untitled album and why he loves working overtime.
TVGuide.com: Let's start at the beginning. How'd you land the role of Teen Angel?
Taylor Hicks: I've been offered to do ...
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