The writing was on the wall for Paula when they brought Kara in - Kara was obviously their back up plan so they could afford to not give in to Paula. When they chose to re-sign Kara first (and give her about the same Paula had worked her way up to in 8 seasons while Kara only put in 1) and still hadn't talked to Paula about anything, I think she knew what was coming. Sure she asked for a lot of money (at least it's a lot to the rest of us, but in Idol terms, it was chump change), but compared to what Ryan just signed for and what Simon is rumored to be getting and with them signing Kara for nearly the same as what Paula had been making, offering her barely more than Kara when Paula was the one known commodity when the show started and has more than helped keep the show in the news with her various antics, she deserved to get more. I get what she means when she says it's not about the money but about being respected, because there is no way the guys deserve more than her when they all put in the same amount of work. Not to mention she was the one person there who gave the show any humanity and cared for the contestants and understood what they were going through. I think she will be missed.
Now that she's not coming back though, I think the show ought to just go back to 3 judges so that it can maybe, just maybe, get back to ending on time every night. They won't do that though because they don't want people to think Kara was brought in to be Paula's replacement so that's why they're still looking for a 4th judge. I don't think any of the fill-ins during the auditions are legit candidates though. I don't think they will be allowed to offer much (taking presvious seasons of guest judges into account).
I would have preferred to have Paula back and not have Kara and go back to the old format they had up till season 8 but lord knows none of that will happen.
Discussion Topic
Hey, should Paula stay or should she go??
Posted on 08/17/09, 09:14 am
All this controversy that Paula is leaving Idol seems to be true. She probably has tons of offers from other people, and simply wants a lot more money. Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) is still doing the guest judge thing for next seasons current round of auditions. Who wants Pauls to stay? Who wants Paula to go? Who cares? I do, I hope she stays.
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Reply #1 09/01/09 1:38am
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Reply #2 09/01/09 1:38am
The writing was on the wall for Paula when they brought Kara in - Kara was obviously their back up plan so they could afford to not give in to Paula. When they chose to re-sign Kara first (and give her about the same Paula had worked her way up to in 8 seasons while Kara only put in 1) and still hadn't talked to Paula about anything, I think she knew what was coming. Sure she asked for a lot of money (at least it's a lot to the rest of us, but in Idol terms, it was chump change), but compared to what Ryan just signed for and what Simon is rumored to be getting and with them signing Kara for nearly the same as what Paula had been making, offering her barely more than Kara when Paula was the one known commodity when the show started and has more than helped keep the show in the news with her various antics, she deserved to get more. I get what she means when she says it's not about the money but about being respected, because there is no way the guys deserve more than her when they all put in the same amount of work. Not to mention she was the one person there who gave the show any humanity and cared for the contestants and understood what they were going through. I think she will be missed.
Now that she's not coming back though, I think the show ought to just go back to 3 judges so that it can maybe, just maybe, get back to ending on time every night. They won't do that though because they don't want people to think Kara was brought in to be Paula's replacement so that's why they're still looking for a 4th judge. I don't think any of the fill-ins during the auditions are legit candidates though. I don't think they will be allowed to offer much (taking presvious seasons of guest judges into account).
I would have preferred to have Paula back and not have Kara and go back to the old format they had up till season 8 but lord knows none of that will happen. -
Reply #3 09/01/09 12:42pm
I agree that they shouldn't have changed the original format. Paula is the core of the judges. Randy could go, dawg, and i wouldn't mind so much. Nothing bad about Kara, but I didn't even know who she was before idol. Let's hope that Paula is just playing coy for those extra bucks, which she deserves!!! I can't wait for the show to start, they are having auditions all over the world this time. -
Reply #4 09/02/09 2:02am
Auditions all over the world? Since when??
Last I heard they were still sticking to the US...seeing how it's American Idol, it wouldn't make much sense to go beyond that.
As for all the judges, I think the show runners think Simon is the most important overall; for the most part I would agree except that there are times (more often in recent seasons than in the past) where his words are more propaganda to promote the show's agenda for the year rather than actual critque. Randy is a waste of airtime for sure - I hope that during the down time between the seasons he would work on some new catch phrases because "Dawg for me for you that was just a'ight" is getting really tiresome! I knew who Kara was before they brought her on and thought early on she was giving decent critique but as the season went on she got more loopy than Paula! And she tends to ramble on too long. Paula was by far the heart of the show though, without her I wonder how the other three will balance themselves since she was the only one who would go out of her way to try to cushion the blow when someone wasn't so good. It could be really harsh for contestants this year without someone being kind. -
Reply #5 09/04/09 10:10am
I heard that Victoria Beckham was a guest judge when they were having auditions in like, Sweden, or something like that. I do think they went to at least one european city this time. I could be wrong, but thought I heard that. Sorry if I got the info wrong.
And thank you, I also think Randy is highly replacable. Not much in the personality department. Dawg. -
Reply #6 09/05/09 12:43am
Victoria Beckham filled the 4th judge spot when they were in Denver and then flew with them to Boston to fill the void when Katy Perry had a scheduling conflict. Katy Perry rescheduled to cover one day of the LA auditions which are going on this weekend.
No European cities involved at all - if they did that it wouldn't be American Idol anymore. There were some rumblings of disgust amongst Idol forums early in season 8 for putting foreign born singers through, I cannot imagine them ever considering auditions in any place that isn't at the very least a US territory (ala Puerto Rico last year). They want to be certain the people they pick to compete to be the American Idol are citizens, if not born in than at least naturalized. Otherwise, a good chunk of the major voting and viewing block that is the south and midwest would likely revolt.
As for Randy, I am certian he knows where his bread is buttered and would never think to demand more money or else storm off. He even ranks behind Ryan and Kara in terms of impact on the show. Paula was probably second to Simon, so I get her being pissed that Ryan's getting money thrown at him and she gets chastized for not taking a measely raise and shutting up about it. -
Reply #7 09/07/09 11:08am
I have mixed emotions about Paula. On one hand, it was fun watching her & yeah, she did soften the blow & cared about the contestants. On the other hand, there were times she was babbling & it was kind of hard to understand what she was saying. I still like her though. I do wish she'd stay on. Her & Simon's love/hate affair was always fun. I think I'll miss that.
As for Kara, I liked her at the beginning. I thought she was going to be a little more solid than Paula, but you're right. She was getting more loopy as it went on. It almost looked as though she was competing with Paula(which she probably was).
Randy, I could do without. I also hope he's worked on new phrases. You'd think his head would explode if he didn't say "dawg" as many times per show as possible.
I like Simon. I was definitely disappointed with him this last season. I think his honest criticism made the show so much more interesting. When he was pushing to try to get the vote to go a particular way, that just ruined it for me. I didn't even think I was going to get through the whole season.
For this coming season, I hope they get the time thing worked out. I'm sure they already put a time limit on the judges, but they need to have Ryan enforce that more. I'm also hoping there is some better talent this year. I mean, the ones they had were alright, but it was nothing like the previous season. That's another reason last season was disappointing to me. Even so, I still can't wait until it starts again! Here's to hoping this season is better! :} -
Reply #8 09/07/09 11:28am
Ooops, I need to listen better. Thanks for all the info, I love this stuff!!! I don't know where I got that european thing. I appreciate the correction, as I tend to write before I check it out. -
Reply #9 09/12/09 2:07am
There was some discussion in the media as to whether Posh was the new Paula replacement when she flew with them to a second city which did have people talking about two Brits telling Americans what consitutes their Idol which maybe led to your thinking there was some European connection with this season...perhaps?
I was not one to be all rah rah about Posh being a fill in (or pretty much any of the fill ins that they had announced for the audition rounds) but after hearing Ellen got the spot, I'm thinking any of the fill ins would've been more qualified...at least they all (even Neil Patrick Harris has done Broadway) have singing experience!
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