My Heart Will Go On

Can't say that I am surprised by this story from the Associated Press:

Fans support Paula Abdul, but would 'Idol' go on?
By ERIN CARLSON, AP Entertainment Writer Erin Carlson, Ap Entertainment Writer – Mon Jul 20, 7:44 pm ET

NEW YORK – The clock is winding down to the judges' round of "American Idol" auditions — next month, the gates will be opened for a new batch of hopefuls. They'd do well to come prepared: Paula Abdul might not be around to dole out much-needed hugs and kind words of encouragement.

The kooky, feel-good judge, whose sweetness tempers the tart-tongued Simon Cowell, is reportedly unhappy about her status on the top-rated talent competition — and she wants her frustration known. Abdul's manager, David Sonenberg, dropped an "Idol" bombshell last Friday when he told The Los Angeles Times' Web site that the longtime judge may not be returning to the upcoming ninth season.

The reason? According to Sonenberg, she had not yet received a proposal for a new contract.
"I find it under these circumstances particularly unusual; I think unnecessarily hurtful," said Sonenberg, who noted Abdul was "not a happy camper" as a result of stalled contract negotiations.

Abdul seems to be healing her wounds on Twitter. After Sonenberg's public statements, a campaign of support sprung up on the micro-blogging site, where "KeepPaula" became a hot trending tropic. Among those joining the effort were former "Idol" contestants Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey and Syesha Mercado.

Mercado, a finalist on season seven, tweeted: "No Paula No American Idol."

Abdul, who has over 725,000 followers on the site, responded to her fans, gushing, "I'm actually moved 2 tears upon reading the enormous amount of tweets showing me your kindness, love, & undying support."

Meanwhile, host Ryan Seacrest is making bank. The media mogul signed a lucrative deal that keeps him hosting "Idol" through 2012 as well as participating in new projects. The announcement, made last week, specified no dollar figure, although The Hollywood Reporter pegged the deal at $45 million.

The other "Idol" judges are Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and newcomer Kara DioGuardi. Representatives for Fox and the show's producers — 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia — declined to comment on Abdul's situation. Abdul's publicist, Jeff Ballard, directed The Associated Press to Sonenberg, who did not respond to requests for comment.

"She'll be fine. She'll be on the show," Cowell was quoted as telling "Extra" on Monday. "I don't get a lot of say. I've just made it clear that I want Paula on the show."

According to the entertainment news show, Seacrest said as far as he knows, "you'll see everybody back." Cowell agent Alan Berger and Seacrest spokeswoman Meredith O'Sullivan did not immediately respond to interview requests.

"The perturbing thing of this Paula Abdul news, of her not coming back, is the sort of implication that if Paula doesn't come back, does this mean that they're now relying on Kara to fill that third seat?" mused Michael Slezak, who blogs about "Idol" for Entertainment Weekly magazine's Web site.

"Because I think in the history of show additions, Kara would be in the top 10 least successful additions to popular shows ever. She was dreadful last season and I think the `Idol'-verse has sort of uniformly felt that she really didn't bring much to the show."

Beyond that, Slezak added, who can tell what is truth and what is fiction with Abdul? "These people, and this show, want to be in the headlines, and this is a good way to do it," he said. "So you don't know: Is this another case of crying wolf ... or do they really mean it this time? Are they really through with her?"

Contract disputes are among the juiciest bits of television history. Suzanne Somers' acting career faded in the 1980s after she was written out of the ABC sitcom "Three's Company." Her crime: Demanding more money. The stars of "The Dukes Of Hazzard," Tom Wopat and John Schneider, walked off the show in 1982 and were replaced after a nationwide talent search. Their substitutes weren't accepted by the public, and the original "Dukes" were back on set within the year.

In 2004, Jorja Fox and George Eads were fired from the CBS hit "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" during tense contract negotiations. They were later hired back.

And two years ago, "Grey's Anatomy" actress Katherine Heigl talked publicly about a protracted dispute with ABC. She has said she wanted "the same respect they're showing the other actors."

As for Abdul, could the show survive without its sweetest critic?

"I don't think `American Idol' will die without her," said Rickey Yaneza, who blogs about "Idol" at Rickey.org. "Judging from last year, I mean, it's ... actually kind of nice to have things change. It makes it fresher."

"It's kind of like a bold move," Yaneza said, referring to Sonenberg's media announcement, "but I think what'll happen is I think eventually whatever they'll offer her, she'll take."

If "Idol" lost Abdul, the show would lose its second most valuable judge, Slezak said, raising another question: Why not drop Jackson and Dioguardi as well?

"I have a feeling in my gut that if they shook that panel up and just kept Simon and brought in two people who maybe could be equal to Simon — or as good or close to as good — I think it could only benefit the show," he said.

"This thought that Simon can be the only sharp insightful judge at that table, I think people would be surprised how much they might enjoy having three really sharp people on that panel."

I could have told you that Rehab Girl's job was in jeopardy when they hired Horny Chick Kara to be the "fourth" judge back in August of last year. In fact, I think I did:

From August 25, 2008:

You notice how the producers are going out of their way to portray this as being a positive for Paula Abdul? Indeed, another AP story stated that Dioguardio and Abdul are "longtime friends". Ms. DioGuardio is back-up for Paula alright, back-up in case Paula acts like Barney Gumble again. Who else could Simon Fuller be referring to when he says that they are "turning up the heat"? Make no mistake, Drunk Chick has been put on notice here, which is kind of sad for me since Paula has been such a rich source of material for this blog. I have no idea about this new girl. I don't even have a nickname for her yet.

Looking back I think Paula was on her best behavior last season. Indeed, I took more shots at Captain Jack Simon than I did at her, whereas in Season 7 Paula was the runaway winner in that department. But it appears that it may not have been enough, or perhaps the producers are unhappy that Rehab Girl didn't act like a drunk chick, or perhaps the producers realized that it is too much of a pain in the rear, and in Fox's pocketbook, to have 4 judges on the show and they are not going to dump Simon (because he is their real cash cow) or Kara (because they would have to then admit that hiring her was a mistake) or Randy (because who would notice if they did?). Paula is the odd one out here (in more ways than one), and she did herself no favors last fall when she accused the producers of deliberately risking her life by allowing her stalker to audition.

Yes, the show would go on without her, but I don't think viewers are going to stop watching just because Paula is not there to give words of encouragement to contestants that don't listen to anyway. My blog would go on without her too, but I would miss her mostly because I am one of the few people who actually does pay attention to what she says.

Personally, if I had a say I would choose Paula over Kara in a New York minute. But then I'm just a lonely Idol blogger, what do I know?