As news of Ellen DeGeneres's departure from American Idol is still settling, reports are now coming in that she will be replaced by actress/singer/dancer Jennifer Lopez.
J. Lo has guest judged on Idol in the past, during the show's sixth season, and was genuinely well received in her criticism. Faced with recent box office flops and a record label that has dropped her, taking a high visibility job like judging Idol might be a smart career move for J. Lo, providing the show doesn't crash and burn without snarky Simon Cowell, as many believe it will.
Former executive producer of Idol Nigel Lithgoe will be returning to the show, and he believes that the show should return to its three judge panel. This old format always seemed to make more sense than the overly talky and often rushed feeling that came with the permanent addition of a fourth judge to the Idol panel in 2008. So now, with J. Lo likely on board (according to her manager, Benny Medina, though no official statements have been issued by Fox), the panel should be complete, right?
Of course it could never be so simple with a show like Idol. Reports are also streaming in that Steven Tyler, who recently sobered up enough due to a three month stint in rehab to return to his position as the leading man of Aerosmith, may be filling the Cowell vacancy, and that songwriter Kara DioGuardi has been fired. Unfortunately for Kara, despite informed and helpful criticism for the contestants, fans of Idol never seemed to take to her.
With the Season 10 judges' panel so up in the air, the sentiment that Idol is a sinking ship is reverberating at least across the internet. Can Idol survive not just its first season without Simon, but its first season with an almost entirely new set of judges?
What do you think? Will you continue to watch Idol despite the change in judges, or are you finished with the show now that Simon has left the building?
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