“I can do that” will now replace “You look amazing tonight and blargh blah boof”…
The pending absence of Paula Abdul on the upcoming 9th season of American Idol has been nothing less than shocking to avid Idol enthusiasts (which is what we like to be called). With Simon, Randy and Kara the contestants were missing a cheering squad as well as a fair share of positive encouragement - regardless of whether or not it was Paula or the pill/alcohol/etc etc talking.
Past contestants have spoken out about their sadness with the decision not to bring Abdul back and many fans, including yours truly, have been having a hard time thinking about what could replace the outrageous moments and the great banter between she and Simon. Well it seems that the producers, and no doubt Simon Cowell, posses exponential brilliance that I definitely didn’t give them enough credit for. This came in the form of Ellen DeGeneres’ announcement on her show yesterday that she will be the new judge on American Idol.
Here is a brief overview of how my day went yesterday: I was waiting outside the Ahmanson Theatre waiting for a friend to join me before seeing a show and was doing my obsessive Twitter check (being 2 minutes since the last check, it was obviously time). On it I see the following tweet from Ellen:
Guess what? Go ahead… nope… keep guessing… Okay, I’ll just tell you—I’m gonna be the new judge on American Idol!
What resulted was something along the lines of a heart drop or an internal display of giddy exuberance that may or may not have let to a texting spree spreading the good news. I never said I was perfect.
And now for some hard hitting journalistic analysis, which you, my loyal reader (hey mom, again), come here for. This is by far the best move that the producers of American Idol could have made, in my opinion, as the replacement for Paula Abdul isn’t something that should have just been decided hastily. I can see how at this stage, in their 9th season, the producers and their justified egos could simply put the decision to the side and say, “the show is bigger than one judge.” On one hand, I agree completely. On the other, I think most fans would still be looking for a sense of closure for the whole situation. Well, closure granted.
Ellen DeGeneres is likable beyond recognition and has the biting wit and amazing relationship with Simon that will make the show even more enjoyable than it already is. There is no way that the majority of American Idol viewers could be mad about this decision because no one in their right mind has negative things to say about Ellen. The decision and the presumed thought process that went into this entire deal is nothing short of brilliance.
Now here’s hoping that she stays off the barbiturates…at least for one season.
