AI Commentary – Judging the Judges

It's kind of like the old adage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Rumors persist everywhere about this show, for no other reason than because of its popularity. There's been rumors that Paula is either stepping down or is being let go, and those have been around for a few years, and this week the rumor stated that Courtney Love was contacted to replace her, be a fourth judge, or at the very least be a guest judge. Everyone was all up in arms about how could this be.

This was all proven to be nothing more than a prank on Love, as it was her that had reported this news to Us Magazine. Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe had to speak up to calm everyone down. He said he never placed a call to Love, and it was most likely someone misrepresenting him. He said they have no plans to replace or add to the judges.

Of course not. It's the number one show, and the numbers raise yearly. Just the first audition show alone brought in twenty-one million people. Why would they want to change this winning formula? I think Paula could probably walk in smelling of cheap whiskey, and puke in a bucket behind her at the table, and they wouldn't do anything to upset that balance.

There's something about this collection of judges that works. Why tinker with success? Everyone has opinions on these three, but like or not, they know the business, and they each know different ends of the business, making their opinions combined worthwhile. Simon knows what sells, Randy knows what passes for entertainment, and Paula knows how the music will touch people.

Are they perfect? No, but neither am I, and neither are the people they are being paid to judge. Can Simon Cowell be a little cruel sometimes, yes, but of the finalists to come out of American Idol, many say the judge the respect the most is Simon. He was always blasting Jon Peter Lewis for one reason or another, and when I interviewed Lewis last fall, Jon Peter Lewis Interview he indicated when he watches the show now, he finds himself often agreeing with Simon. And those comments he himself received he honors, as he can now add them into his bio, that "Simon Cowell" said this or that about him.

Randy Jackson is constantly criticized for his overuse of terms like Dawg, a'ight, etc., and also gets flak for doing his share of name-dropping. I'm not going to criticize anyone for their vernacular. It would be pretty boring if he spoke in the same way that Simon does, dripping with British colloquialisms. And if people don't want him to name-drop anymore, then the contestants should stop singing the songs of the people in the business he's worked with, like Journey and Whitney Houston.

Where do I start with Paula? Corey Clark? Don't believe it. Had he not been promoting a CD when he made that ridiculous claim, I'd give it much more credence. The drinking? I just don't see it. I listen to a lot of people saying she acts weird, drunk, high, etc., but I've never seen her do anything that I thought, wow, you can tell she's plastered. Goofy, yeah, but that's it. And she admitted years ago she took prescription drugs and once had a problem with them, so why do people suddenly have to say she's drunk? I think it's power of suggestion a lot of times. The rumors are out there that she's drinking, so everyone is sitting their questioning her every move, including every times she takes a drink from a cup we have no idea what it's filled with.

I'd be upset if they did anything to tinker with this show. I really don't want to watch a show with three stiff judges that never act peculiar. That wouldn't be any fun, and I wouldn't have near enough material for my commentaries. Besides, what would people talk about then at the water cooler?

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