It's Finally Official... Simon Cowell is Leaving Idol After Season 9
Simon Cowell is Apparently Quitting American Idol Due to Bad Blood
Richard Rushfield wrote an article in The Daily Beast today about why Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after the current season. Speculation existed that Simon was merely leaving to helm his own show (an American version of Britain's X Factor), but Richard suggests that there was also bad blood on the Idol set. The article sugges that Simon Cowell was upset that Idol producer Simon Fuller was raking in the dough, whereas Simon Cowell was seen as merely on-air talent and wasn't getting a behind-the-scenes take (Cowell makes an estimated $50 million a year from the show, so it's safe to say Fuller must be making a ton more). Simon started to assert himself more by creating shows like American Inventor and America's Got Talent, eventually clashing more and more with the producers of Idol. Now Simon is poised to leave Idol and make a larger fortune if he can get X Factor off the ground and running, especially with Paula Abdul. If X Factor has Paula and Simon, while Idol has Kara and Randy, it's a safe bet that Idol's ratings would tank. So Simon Cowell has been plotting the end of Idol all this time? Who knew we were working on the same side as him? The article is a good read, so check it out.
Kara DioGuardi Eats Other People's Food in Her Sleep
Now that Paula Abdul is off of Idol, she's letting the fur fly by ragging on her ex-roommate Kara DioGuardi. Paula discovered Kara (thanks a lot...) and let Kara live with her. But she wasn't happy when she found out that Kara walks to the fridge and eats all of the food in her sleep. Paula had some funny things to say:
"I'd wake up in the morning and I thought ‘did my dog do this?’ There was food on the ground. ‘What the heck?’ I thought. But she would have no recollection that she did it."
And it seemed this was quite a topic of conversation among their friendship circle.
"The proof is in the pudding, one of her best friends said ‘oh you think you had it bad? She ate mine and my husband’s first anniversary wedding cake... in her sleep.’ So I didn’t feel so bad," Abdul continued.
How shocking. Kara has always been doing annoying things. If anyone has video of Kara sleep-eating, we'll pay for it.
Could Paula Abdul Be a Judge on the Upcoming US X-Factor?
The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Simon Cowell's negotiations over American Idol are heavily based on bringing his other hit show, X Factor, from England to America as well. Simon stands to make $50 million a year on Idol and an additional $50 million for X Factor if all goes well for him. The best nuggest of gossip from the article though is that Paula Abdul is rumored to possibly be one of the judges for the US version of X Factor if it does make its way here. Now that might make us tune in. Idol dropped the ball when it dropped Paula, so bringing her back as a judge on a new show is wise indeed. Or was it all a big publicity stunt to have Paula quit after she inked a deal to judge X Factor? Knowing Fremantle, probably the latter.
So what do you think? Is Idol toast now that Simon's leaving? Leave a comment.