DeGeneres has some pretty big sneakers to fill herself, as she steps in following the departure of beloved loopy ex-judge Paula Abdul, who quit the show last year after failing to reach a new contract settlement. The ninth season of "Idol" will be the first without Abdul's lovably loony and predictably supportive commentary. Fox is hoping the cuddly and quick-witted DeGeneres can make fans forget about Abdul's exit and boost slowly eroding ratings on what is still the #1 show in prime time.
"Ellen brings a huge fanbase and people will be curious to see how she does. But if she performs poorly, that is bad for the show's long-term health," Entertainment Weekly senior writer Michael Slezak told Reuters.
MTV's resident "Idol" expert Jim Cantiello couldn't agree more. "I am super excited to see it for several reasons," he said. "One, it's a new element to a show that's been on the air for nine seasons, and we heard rumors there might have been tension on the first day because Simon showed up late, so it's fun to watch that episode with that filter. Also, she's one of the most famous people out there, so anything she does warrants attention."
Like a lot of "Idol" followers, Cantiello said he was a bit nervous about the addition of DeGeneres to the expert panel following her poorly received guest stint on "So You Think You Can Dance" last summer, where detractors faulted her for making jokes, but not really commenting on the dancing. "That was really bad, and if she does that on 'Idol,' the show will die a horrible death this year," Cantiello said. "When the news first came out about her, people freaked out, but that's subsided, and once I saw the promos Fox cut, they did a really good job teasing it."
-Gil Kaufman
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1631516/20100208/story.jhtml
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