Tag: Simon Cowell (41-50 of 114)

Feb 6 2011 06:15 PM ET

Super Bowl XLV: Best and worst commercials?

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Presenting… Your Super Bowl Commercials of 2011, brought to you by Eminem. He LOST HIMSELF in not one but two major ad campaigns this year. During the first quarter, Claymation Eminem quenched his thirst with a refreshing Brisk iced tea; then just before halftime, super-intense human Eminem delivered a cross between a eulogy and a giant “eff you, pay attention” on behalf of the city of Detroit. And you thought he didn’t do commercials.

Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne finally had to find out what a Bieber was, Adrien Brody serenaded some crying/orgasmic women (Stella Artois), Faith Hill’s rack is huge (Teleflora), Timothy Hutton is really, really into Tibetan fish curry (Groupon.com), and Kim Kardashian’s ass (Shape-Ups) is ass usual. Plus, so many movie trailers, including J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s Super 8, Terra Nova, Thor, Cowboys & Aliens — starring Danny Craig and Indy Ford — Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and a first look at Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger. My five favorite commercials, after the break. READ FULL STORY »

Feb 3 2011 12:36 PM ET

'American Idol' poll: So far, is it better or worse without Simon?

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Tags: , , , , , American Idol, Reality TV, Television, TV

idol-judgesImage Credit: Michael Becker/FoxIt’s three weeks into a Simon-less American Idol, and… I haven’t missed him. Now I reserve the right to reevaluate the judges’ panel again when we get to the live shows and they have to offer critiques other than a simple “yes” or “no,” but right now, I’m 100 percent satisfied with Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. There’s at least three times an episode when I tell my TV, “I love Steven Tyler.” Shockingly, it’s not when he’s rhyming random profanity that has to be bleeped (although I enjoy that, too), it’s when he’s visibly enjoying hearing someone sing well. He genuinely appreciates it, and is excited by it, and his face shows it. As my colleague Kate Ward says, it’s much more fun to watch the show when the judges clearly are having fun and want to be there. It feels like season 1 or 2, and less like season 8 and 9, when you could tell Cowell was biding his time. As for Lopez, I’ve grown to love the way she tends to look off-camera at someone, who I assume is a producer. I’m sure you’ve noticed it. It seems to happen when she’s just heard a great backstory and she’s thinking, for the love of God, I hope this person can actually sing, so she doesn’t have to crush his or her dream. In my mind, she’s nervously searching for some kind of assurance on a producer’s face that it will be okay because she’s invested. (And if that producer is good, he or she doesn’t give it to her! Suffer, Lopez! It’s drama!) It also happens after someone surprises her with a unique sound. Then, in my mind, the look is a wordless, We’re really doing it!.

Let’s take it to a vote below.  READ FULL STORY »

Jan 19 2011 08:00 PM ET

'American Idol' season 10 premiere: It's on!

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Tags: , , , American Idol, Reality TV, TV

AMERICAN-IDOL-SEASON-10Image Credit: Tony Duran/FoxUPDATE: Annie Barrett’s American Idol premiere recap is live! Click here!

And it’s new! And I’m new! Steven Tyler and I have more in common than ever! Sadly, I cannot say the same about me and Jennifer Lopez. Look to your right. Doll Legs.

Discuss tonight’s staggering two-hour American Idol season 10 premiere here during and after the show. Do you miss Simon? Will any of the featured hopefuls linger in your brain long enough for you to illegally text your friends about them tomorrow from an AT&T device while driving your Ford after drinking your morning Coca-Cola? And based on the first two hours of auditions, would you extend a First Impression Rose to J. Lo, S. Ty, or Randy? Keep them alive or shatter their dreams of finding true love on reality TV in the comments. And come back tomorrow morning for my first-ever American Idol recap on EW.com.

UPDATE: Annie Barrett’s American Idol premiere recap is live! Click here!

Read more:
‘Idol’: Annie Barrett is new EW recapper
‘American Idol’: 12 Burning Questions!
EW.com’s ‘American Idol’ Central

Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett

Jan 13 2011 08:55 AM ET

This week's cover: Johnny Depp talks exclusively about 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' and the possibility of 'Pirates 5'

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Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Books, Movies, Music, The X Factor, TV

EW-COVER-1138When Johnny Depp appeared at a Disney fan convention in the fall of 2009 to hype the announcement of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, it looked like fair weather-sailing for the fourth movie in the blockbuster franchise. But as the cover story of this week’s special 2011 preview issue reveals, the subsequent journey was anything but squall-free. Indeed, for a while, it looked like Depp himself was about to jump ship. “Things became a little creaky,” admits the superstar. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced operation also had to deal with bad weather of a literal stripe while shooting in Hawaii and the pregnancy of franchise newcomer Penélope Cruz, though Depp says the blooming actress could hardly have been more game. “It was funny to see a pregnant woman f—ing sword-fighting,” he laughs.

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 11 2011 06:20 PM ET

Paula Abdul on 'Ellen': Simon is 'like a fungus'

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Tags: , , , , TV

Paula Abdul swung by Ellen today to shill for her new show Live to Dance, but the talk quickly shifted towards American Idol. Paula talked about trying to keep her season-finale return to Idol a secret from Simon Cowell, and how much she enjoyed his shocked reaction: “I always like making Simon cry.” Ellen prodded her fellow ex-Idol judge about her love/hate relationship with Cowell, which Paula summed up in these immortal words: “He’s like fungus, in the sense that he just sticks around for a long time, and then finally you just surrender to it.” Ellen: “You surrender to fungus?” Paula: “Yeah!” READ FULL STORY »

Jan 4 2011 10:58 AM ET

Pepsi named official sponsor of 'The X Factor'

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Tags: , , , , , , , Food and Drink, Reality TV, Television, The X Factor, TV

cowell-pepsi_320.jpg Image Credit: Solarpix/PR PhotosThe days of seeing Simon Cowell at the American Idol judges table sitting behind a large Coke glass are really gone. Fox has announced Pepsi as the official beverage sponsor of The X Factor. “The comprehensive sponsorship of The X Factor by Pepsi includes an extensive, multi-platform off-air marketing partnership; weekly in-show integrations and placements; and an immersive content experience online. Pepsi will be the exclusive beverage sponsor of The X Factor both on and off-air,” the release says. Why is the partnership perfect, besides sticking it to Idol? Pepsi is quick to remind you of its “historic, unforgettable campaigns with pop icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears, and more recently, Snoop Dogg.” That’s actually a decent argument. If Pepsi is smart, they’ll ask Cowell to film some videos in which he critiques the performances in those commercials. With some creative editing, that could be fun, right?

Personally, I would hate to be on a show sponsored by Pepsi because I am a Coke girl. Yes, I can tell the difference, and I remember having a strong preference (unlike Cowell, apparently) by the time I was a freshman in college (and arguing about it in COM 101). Today, if I’m someplace that carries Pepsi products, I’ll order a Sierra Mist, not a Pepsi — unless I’m in desperate need of caffeine. (Editor’s note: Mandi, you’re crazy. Pepsi is the choice of a new generation! Again.) It’s smart of the soft drinks to target shows with a young audience, because I imagine most of us have established loyalty by the time we’re adults. Let’s take it to a poll!

Read more:
‘The X Factor’ exclusive: First look at Fox’s promo!
Simon Cowell’s rep on ‘X-Factor’ judges: ‘No decisions made’
Simon Cowell confirms his departure from ‘American Idol’ this season

Dec 29 2010 11:10 AM ET

2010's Most Bizarre Reality TV Moment: What's your pick?

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“Most Bizarre” seems like the reality TV equivalent of “Best.” You gotta consider your genre!

Reality-TV-Hills-Idol-StarsImage Credit: Adam Larkey/ABC; Lifetime; MTV

It’s been a ridiculous year in “reality.” Bristol Palin outlasted fallen pop star Brandy in a televised ballroom dancing popularity contest. Ellen DeGeneres was suddenly sitting on Simon Cowell’s lap and then –poof!– both of them were gone. The Hills may have been fake molehills all along. And bangin’ Gretchen Jones took center stage on Project Runway, transforming the competition series into a riveting character study that often seemed like a senior-year elective for psych majors (PS 801: Raging Narcissism in the Age of Reality Television). READ FULL STORY »

Dec 13 2010 09:38 AM ET

'X Factor' winner crowned in the UK, but can Matt Cardle cross over?

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Tags: , , , Music, Reality TV, TV

matt-cardleImage Credit: Ken McKay/TalkbackThames/Rex/Rex USAMatt Cardle won The X Factor last night in the U.K., topping Rebecca Ferguson, boyband One Direction, and Cher Lloyd. The finale snagged 17.2 million viewers, which is a 55 share, and at its peak, it pulled in more than 19 million viewers, which is a solid 60. It’s the show’s highest-rated finale ever. Somewhere, a Fox executive just soiled themselves: A 55-share is pretty much Super Bowl numbers. This year’s off-its-ratings-game American Idol finale pulled in around 23 million viewers.

The X Factor shares most of its important DNA with American Idol, but one key difference is that each judge mentors a specific group of performers for the entire run — the boys, the girls, the bands, and the people over 28. Matt’s mentor was Dannii Minogue, who presumably coached him through such rad performances as this cover of “Baby One More Time,” which came during Guilty Pleasures week: READ FULL STORY »

Nov 10 2010 05:50 PM ET

Life of 'Britain's Got Talent' contestant Paul Potts coming to a theater near you

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Tags: , , , , , , Movies, Reality TV, To Care or Not to Care

paul-pottsImage Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty ImagesDeadline is reporting that director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) will helm One Chance, the story of unlikely Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts. A cellphone salesman from Wales, Potts wowed notoriously crotchety judges Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan with his initial audition performance of “Nessun dorma,” and went on to win season 1 of the British reality competition in 2007 before embarking on a successful opera recording career. Cowell was originally slated to produce the film, but has since dropped out (he’s busy working on bringing X-Factor to America … and maybe a Susan Boyle biopic one day?).

While Potts and Boyle are undeniably talented, these “unlikely reality television success stories” drive me crazy — Look, it’s an older, conventionally unattractive person who can actually do something well! Does Potts’ story really deserve the feature film treatment? And how accurate to life will it be? It’s being described as a comedy, which may be the right move. I love a good underdog story, and am a total anglophile, so if One Chance becomes more of a Full Monty-esque tale, I could dig it.

Hopping back across the pond, is there any America’s Got Talent contestant whose life story you would like to see played out on the big screen? Recent finalist Jackie Evancho needs a few more years of life experience to warrant one, while winner Michael Grimm — whose grandparents lost their home after Hurricane Katrina — seems ripe for a major studio’s picking if they’re looking to bank on blubbering idiots like myself. But really, the obvious AGT choice would be Prince Poppycock — if only to gain some insight on his makeup and skincare regimen.

What do you think, PopWatchers: Is the life of Paul Potts the kind of underdog story you’d pay money to see? What other reality show contestants deserve their own films?

Sep 22 2010 04:59 PM ET

Jennifer Lopez on 'American Idol': Why she needs to be the new Simon Cowell

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Tags: , , , , , American Idol, Reality TV, Television, TV

Simon-Cowell-Jennifer-LopezImage Credit: Michael Tran/FilmMagic.com; Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com“Concentrate on the moment and just live,” declared Jennifer Lopez, looking out on a crowd of American Idol wannabes, moments after Ryan Seacrest announced the “Get Right” singer would be part of the show’s season 10 judging panel at a press conference in Los Angeles earlier today. To which I say, “Oh. No.”

Yeah, I realize you can’t judge a judge on a seven-word sound bite, but J.Lo’s new-agey, everyone-gets-a-gold-star first impression left me wondering if she understands the role she should be playing as Fox’s venerable-but-vulnerable ratings powerhouse enters the post-Simon Cowell era. (“I believe in tough love, but I don’t think I can ever be cruel to another artist. There are definitely better ways to say things,” Lopez later told reporters; read my colleague Lynette Rice’s rundown of the proceedings here.)

As we learned from Ellen DeGeneres’ disastrous stint on Idol last season, it can be tough for a well-established, well-liked celebrity (especially one with an active career) to sit down at the judges’ table and give negative feedback to contestants. “It was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings,” Ellen said when announcing her exit from the show in late July. Perhaps even harder, though, was the idea that viewers might not absolve her of the “sin” of crushing the dreams of so many wannabe music stars in front of 20 million viewers.

But in the words of Kara DioGuardi, “Here’s the thing”: In the Idolverse, it’s not only okay to be unflinchingly tough and brutally honest, it’s absolutely necessary. READ FULL STORY »

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