Via MSN BC

Fox announced Wednesday that Ellen de Generes, talk show host and comedian, who admittedly has no formal music experience, just a passion for tunes, will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi for the ninth season. The announcement all but seals the departure of Paula Abdul, the original third judge who announced she was quitting amid a contract dispute in July.

I wonder if Ellen really has the talent to discern the quality of a singer. Or maybe she can also get training on the judging aspect.

By now, I’m sure you’re well aware of the fact that during season 9 of American Idol, there are several celebrity guest judges who will be sitting in the place that Paula Abdul left empty. Victoria Beckham and Katy Perry were the first, Shania Twain was in Chicago to guest judge the auditions, and Neil Patrick Harris will be judging the Dallas auditions. Let’s take a brief moment to look at the other rumored American Idol guest judges and speculate about how well they’ll do.

Avril Lavigne

She’ll be joining Katy Perry in the LA leg of the auditions and I’m not too sure about her being an American Idol guest judge. I suppose her being a relatively successful music artist gives her the right to guest judge, but I don’t think she’s as experienced as the other judges and guest judges due to her age.

Kristen Chenoweth

Yet another highly-acclaimed Broadway star joins the guest judges, this time in Orlando. Kristen Chenowith is most known for her role in Pushing Daisies, which got her an Emmy nomination, and is also an original cast member of the Broadway hit Wicked. Some people think that Paula’s replacement should have more experience in the recording industry rather than actual singing talent, but it will definitely be refreshing seeing Kristen in Paula’s chair for at least an episode.

Kelly Clarkson

Should a former American Idol winner be guest judging the next contestant? It might be interesting to hear Kelly Clarkson’s perspective on the competition as an alumnus and winner of the show, but I’m not sure if that gives her enough clout to decide who moves up and who leaves Hollywood.

Mary J. Blige

Mary J Blige was also at the Atlanta auditions, and I think she might make a pretty good judge because of her long, successful career as an R&B musician. She’s likely to add thoughtful comments and critiques to the panel. To be perfectly honest though, I’m not really a big fan and I wouldn’t be too excited if she got to stay on for good.

Joe Jonas

I’m pretty sure the middle Jonas brother was only added to the roster to appeal to the tween demographic. I’m highly doubtful he’ll be replacing Paula for good.

I’m not really a fan of Katherine McPhee but I am totally digging her blond locks in her latest album cover. Her sophomore album, Unbroken, will be released on Verve Records on October 6 and I’m guessing the tracks will sound pretty much like your standard pop tunes. The first single from the album, Had It All, was written by Kara DioGuardi and is available on iTunes now.

Exciting news! E Online just confirmed that Neil Patrick Harris, also known as Uncle Barney from How I Met Your Mother, will be guest-judging the Dallas auditions. On the surface level, it seems as though his wit is the only thing he can bring to the judges’ table. But he’s had extensive experience singing on Broadway, and the Internet public got to see his talent firsthand with the Dr. Horrible musical miniseries. I doubt that Fox will keep Neil Patrick Harris on board because he’s not really a part of the recording industry, but I’m definitely looking forward to viewing the Dallas auditions episode. Among all the guest judges, NPH’s appearance is the one I’m excited for the most!

Photographer Robert Sebree has been taking a bunch of photos of Adam Lambert in his studio, and this Tudor-themed photo is the latest in the series. According to Adam, he enjoys playing dress up and you can totally see his flair for drama in these photos. Most of them have an awesome glam rock vibe that reminds me of my favorite movie of all time, Velvet Goldmine. Look under the cut for the colored version of the photo above, plus a few more photos by Robert Sebree.

This one is my favorite among the bunch. It’s so Velvet Goldmine!

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Jason Castro’s new single “Let’s Just Fall In Love” is finally out! At first, I was put off by the cheesy title because it sounds like a cheap ballad, it but after giving it a listen here I found myself bopping my head to the music. It’s a lively, radio-friendly tune that sounds a little like The Kooks, minus the thick accent. I can totally see this getting a lot of radio play in the weeks to come.

Jason’s upcoming debut album is also available for pre-order at JasonCastro.Com. For $9.99, you can get a digital download of the whole album 24 hours before its November 2009 release. And as much as I love Jason Castro, I wouldn’t be crazy enough to fork over $399.99 for the Pre-Order Deluxe Pack, which includes an autographed limited edition poster, an instant mp3 download of “Let’s Just Fall In Love Again”, a personalized voice mail message (I’d hate to have to pay for a voice mail message), a bunch of other merchandise I probably won’t use, and access to a fan club I probably won’t participate in.

The search is still on for the next American Idol judge! Early rumors said that Jessica Simpson may be the judge for the next leg of the auditions round, but this has been denied by her rep. In the Atlanta round of auditions, Mary J Blige filled in for the spot left by Paula Abdul. And according to People, Shania Twain might be the guest judge for the Chicago auditions on August 30 and 31. I’m not really a big fan of her music and I’m not sure exactly what makes her qualified to be an American Idol judge, but she is very pretty and pleasant to look at. In any case, I’ll reserve my judgment for when I see the auditions for myself early next year.

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Lately, fans have been pissy towards Adam Lambert for not attending the after-concert bus autograph and photo sessions. To make up for his absence, he decided to throw a Twitter party. For an entire hour, fans Twittered questions to his Twitter account, and Adam answered as many as he could through his iPhone. Faux News covered Adam’s Twitter party briefly but what they failed to add was that it was actually Michael Sarver who invented the first Idol Twitter party. Michael hosted the first one and many others after that.

Adam’s Twitter party put fans in a very good mood, and even answered questions about when his new single will come out.

oqueovi: @ADAMLAMBERT When can we expect your first single/music video?12:18 PM Aug 13th from web
adamlambert: @oqueovi 1st single in October most likely… Album in Nov!!! I hope u guys love it.12:23 PM Aug 13th from TwitterFon in reply to oqueovi

And it turns out that he would do a collaboration with Katy Perry and Slash if he had the chance.

via MjsBigBlog and Adam’s Twitter

A report from the New York Times confirm what everyone has been speculating. Paula Abdul did leave American Idol due to money matters, but also because she felt disrespected by the show’s producers. It turns out that the reason why she wanted higher compensation was to make up for the endorsement deals she lost when rumors circulated about her using substances before and during the live show. Though Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson tried to counter the rumors, she still felt that the show helped perpetuate them.

A person close to Ms. Abdul said that part of her salary demands were to make up for the loss of income from at least one endorsement deal that went awry. That person said that Ms. Abdul had been negotiating for that endorsement contract, with a major fashion label, in 2006 and was close to a deal.

But the deal fell apart, Ms. Abdul’s supporter said, after questions were raised about whether she had been drinking or using drugs before “Idol” promotional appearances or even during the live show, behavior she strongly denied. Ms. Abdul told David Letterman on his talk show in July 2007 that she believed remarks by the other judges on “Idol” had inadvertently fed the rumors. Earlier that year the judges, Mr. Cowell and Randy Jackson, had countered those rumors.

It turns out that Paula wasn’t the easiest person to work with, and that people working for Fox also had mixed feelings about Paula.

One member of the “Idol” team, meanwhile, said that while Ms. Abdul had clearly contributed to the program’s success, the costs and benefits of her histrionics were quantifiable enough that “Idol” could afford to draw a line in the sand and not cross it.

It seems like hiring an aggressive manager, David Sonenberg, was also the wrong way to go about things.

People involved in the negotiations also said that Ms. Abdul’s contract talks were hurt when she changed managers at the end of June. Soon after the change Mr. Sonenberg, the new manager, told The Los Angeles Times that it appeared that Ms. Abdul would leave the show because she had not received a viable contract offer.

Fox executives said that they had communicated to Mr. Sonenberg the same offer that they had made to Ms. Abdul during the season. But they were vexed, they said, by the new manager’s aggressive remarks and his attempt to negotiate publicly. “It didn’t go over well at all here,” one Fox executive said.

Fox did offer Paula Abdul $5 million in the spring but they never wavered, which must have understandably pissed her off considering that Simon Cowell makes over $30 million from the Idol gig and will be receiving an even bigger raise.

And finally, Paula was indeed threatened by Kara DioGuardi’s appearance as a fourth judge and got the message that she was indeed expendable.

Ms. Abdul has stated publicly that the two women developed a good working relationship, but people close to her say she was surprised and dismayed at the hiring, believing that it was intended to send a message that she was replaceable.

There are rumors circulating wildly about last-minute deals being made to make Paula stay, but it’s unlikely that Fox will change their mind about Paula’s expendability. As much as I love Paula, I have to admit that the show will go on even without her. In fact, it would be refreshing to see a new face in her place. I can’t wait to see how well Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham did on their guest judge stint, and to find out who the new judge will be.

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As with every year, the American Idol kids rang the Nasdaq closing bell, but Matt Giraud and Anoop Desai dropped by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart afterwards. From their Twitter accounts:

@MGiraudOfficial twittered: What an amazing day so far. Went to the Daily show. Noop and I Hung out with Jon Stewart after which was amazing!! http://twitpic.com/dg4m8

@AnoopDoggDesai twittered: Great day, went to the Daily Show, hung with Jon Stewart, now off to dinner.

Meanwhile, Kris Allen guested on MTV’s It’s on with Alexa Chung, where he talked about his travels as a missionary, his childhood tumor, and his biggest fears. At some point during the interview, he sings jingles while sitting on Alexa’s lap – pretty fun stuff. Check out the video under the jump!

Kris Allen with Alexa Chung part one

Kris Allen with Alexa Chung part two

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