Friday, October 11, 2024

American Idol’s Lythgoe: “Paula is the Glue” — from March 8, 2010

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On Monday night, March 8th, I ran into former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe at Soho House in Beverly Hills.

I asked Lythgoe about the “American Idol” hosts. He told me that he still thought Sir Elton John was the best choice to replace Simon Cowell.

“He’s absolutely it,” said Lythgoe, who also said he though Ellen DeGeneres was still warming up and has yet to show her full potential. He obviously sensed then that she wasn’t a keeper.

And he missed Paula Abdul. “She was the glue that held it together, wasn’t she?” he said wistfully.

Lythgoe wanted Abdul back then, and he wants her back now. It’s sort of instructive to think that Lythgoe has regained control of the show and that this is his agenda. What exactly that means for rumors about Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler is unclear.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/03/11/20100311american-idol-producer-elton-still-best-simon-replacement

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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