Image Credit: Janet Mayer/PR Photos; Fox; Michael Becker/FoxAs American Idol‘s season 10 cattle-call auditions continue — the show stopped yesterday in New Orleans, and will head to New Jersey next week — and the September call-back rounds in front of the judges draw closer, speculation is heating up about who will fill the Simon Cowell Memorial Chair. According to The Hollywood Reporter, former executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who left the show prior to its eighth season, is thisclose to signing a deal to return to that position for season 10 (alongside Ken Warwick, Simon Fuller, and Cecile Frot-Coutaz); what makes that news especially juicy is the fact that Lythgoe went on the record last spring saying that not only did he prefer a three-judge format for the show (woot!), but that after Cowell’s exit, he favored sweeping the entire judges’ table clean and starting fresh with new panelists (whoa!). The THR story also mentioned that Idol creator Simon Fuller’s current wish list of judges includes Justin Timberlake and Elton John. A Fox spokesperson declined to comment on the Lythgoe rumors or any potential changes at the judges’ table, but here’s a rundown of reported front-runners, along with a few former mentors whose names ought to be included in the conversation. Check ‘em out for yourself, then vote for your favorite in our handy PopWatch poll:
Justin Timberlake Pros: Having successfully navigated the tricky voyage from Mouseketeer to boy-bander to solo phenomenon, he certainly has the necessary industry cred for the job, and his knowledge of music written after 1990 could drag the typically fusty Idol panel into the post-Celine era. Plus, as he’s proven on SNL and the ESPYs, his quick wit doesn’t abandon him in front of a live audience. Cons: Hard to think of any, although he’ll need to show a willingness to crush the dreams of talentless kids harboring delusions of singing stardom. One other caveat: READ FULL STORY »
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As far as stops on someone else’s journey to find statistically unlikely-to-last love on television go, The Men/Women Tell All specials are always my favorite part — juicy revelations, confrontations, and heretofore unseen (and highly entertaining) moments! But I don’t remember a special ever delivering quite so much in all those departments as this one did. In fact, this made me like this season — and all of the guys not named Justin or Frank — approximately 63 percent more than I did before. Kasey’s the best sport ever! Craig R. is a stud! Jesse’s even hotter without hair!
