Sunday, May 24, 2026

NBC Wrecking “American Idol” Comeback for ABC, Hires Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson as Judges for “The Voice”

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NBC is wrecking plans for ABC to bring back “American Idol.”

In the last two days, NBC has hired “Idol” alums Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson as judges on “The Voice.”

So much for “Idol” nostalgia. NBC also has “Idol” creator and most famous judge Simon Cowell on “America’s Got Talent.” And Jennifer Lopez is on NBC’s “Shades of Blue.” They’re not going to let her leave.

That doesn’t leave much for ABC besides Ryan Seacrest. They could bring back Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, I suppose. With Blake Shelton maybe taking a break, Keith Urban would be a natural for “The Voice.”

But Hudson and Clarkson are the two biggest “Idol” names. The next tier would include Carrie Underwood, Fantasia, and then a whole raft of nice people who you kinda remember like Philip Phillips, Chris Daughtry, the Taylor guy with the grey hair, Ruben Studdard. Hmmm…

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is 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. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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