'American Idol' bits: Kanye West, Nigel Lythgoe, Carrie Underwood, Simon Cowell
By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, October 13, 2015
I can't believe I have to say this but "American Idol" can use any publicity it can get now.
And Ryan Seacrest, producer of the Kardashian reality shows, must have pulled some strings for the final "Idol" auditions in San Francisco over the weekend and convinced Kim and her beau Kanye West to show up. And (har har), Kanye "auditioned" and got a golden ticket to Hollywood! He sang an a capella version of "Gold Digger."
Ya, that dude has a future!
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Long-time executive producer Nigel Lythgoe was fired from "American Idol" after the momentous mess of season 12 (think Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.) That judge panel apparently was not Lythgoe's call. It was Fox's Mike Darnell, who ran reality programming at the time. He said the show took the eye off the ball after the original judges left and didn't focus enough on the singers. Here's his quote from a reality show conference sponsored by The Wrap:
He argued that the series had forgotten about the talent once original judges Abdul and Cowell left the show. The show later saw substantial turnover in judges, including short tenures for Ellen Degeneres, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.
"We forgot what American Idol was about. It should've been about the talent, and all of a sudden Mariah and Nicki turn up and it's about [bumps fists together] this. We lost the humor of it, and the warmth of it."
As a result, the show saw a decline in ratings and had to be put to rest. "I've always equated it to an old boxer. You don't want to see some young guy come up [we think he is referencing "The Voice"] and keep knocking them out," he said.
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Chart track this week is very brief:
Carrie Underwood "Smoke Break" is at No. 8 on the Mediabase 24/7 country chart, still climbing in its eighth week
Scotty McCreery's "Southern Belle' is stuck at no. 45, gaining no momentum.
Otherwise, it's barren landscape for "Idol" alums on the charts.
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Simon Cowell celebrated his 56th birthday in Los Angeles at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant. Seacrest bestowed him with a mini-Maybach car, as he posted above on Instagram.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
