In a story broken by The Los Angeles Times yesterday, Paula Abdul's manager, David Sonenberg, said "it does not appear that she's going to be back on Idol."
Big surprise. Not.
Apparently, Sonenberg claims Fremantle and 19E are being "kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful" in not replying to Paula's interest in sticking with the show for a ninth season. This should come as no surprise to Paula, though, as there have been many signs leading up to this point.
First of all, the addition of Kara DioGuardi last August was a punch in the gut to Paula, as she claimed she and Randy were never consulted before Kara was invited on board. During a season of sharing the limelight with Kara, there were stories of Paula pleading with show management to renew her contract while in impromptu meetings in her dressing room, all to no avail.
Also during the show, Paula was most likely not a fan of the headlines Simon Cowell was making for his then-take of $36 million annually from the series, a number that has since been increased exponentially. Paula's puny $2 million per year salary was commonly used as a footnote in these articles, which obviously did not come off looking very good for her. At the completion of the show's eighth season, her contract had still not yet been renewed, but Paula remained optimistic as recently as two weeks ago.
This scenario is something I have seen coming ever since the day Kara was announced as the fourth judge. Season 8 was merely a test run for Kara, and if she did not totally bomb, Paula's spot would be hers for the taking. Since most agree Kara did an average job as judge but she did not blow it, this is apparently good enough for the producers.
Whatever ends up happening, it should be noted that Paula has been a judge on this show for eight years, and without her we would not have had finalists like Trenyce or Leah Labelle, not to mention the countless times Paula's vote was a tiebreaker or at least a counter to Simon's votes in the earlier rounds of the competition.
Showing posts with label los angeles times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label los angeles times. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Manager: "does not appear" Paula will return for S9
Friday, December 19, 2008
'Idol' odds 'n ends: Simon done with 'Idol' next year?
The following are Idol-related odds and ends that happened this week:
>In a conference call with reporters on Wed., Dec. 17, Simon Cowell said he will "make a decision about (whether to stay with the show) next year," prompting many to speculate that Simon is tired of judging the show or perhaps there might be too much on his plate at the moment.
>There were a few Idol-related certifications issued this week by the RIAA. David Cook's David Cook was certified gold, while Jordin Sparks' Jordin Sparks finally received a platinum certification.
>Carly Smithson was featured on the front page of AOL.com today for a story by the company's Pop Eater blog on a story Carly did with the Los Angeles Times earlier this week. The Pop Eater story paints a bleak future for her and many other Idol alums. Carly was in the studio earlier this week working on a demo.
>David Archuleta performed at the last "jingle" ball/jam/etc. concert on his schedule on Wed., Dec. 17, this one sponsored by Atlanta's Star 94 FM. At the concert, his band gave him a birthday surprise - a big ol' birthday cake equipped with trick candles.
>Antonella Barba posted a blog entry on her official music MySpace page today to thank her fans and let them know that she will be in the studio working with Interscope/Aftermath producer and aFam Records CEO Bernard Edwards in two weeks.
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