Bye bye cleavage. Hello button down shirts. So long stilettos. Hello tennis shoes!
Hard to believe ain’t it?
I’ll admit, I was not looking forward to an Abdul-less “Idol,” but now I’m excited about Ellen. I know all the arguments — she has no musical background. True, but that’s not her intent, as she told her studio audience Thursday on her talk show “Ellen.”
“Hopefully, I’m the people’s point of view because I’m just like you. I sit at home and watch it and I don’t have that technical ... I’m not looking at it in a critical way from the producer’s mind. I’m looking at it as a person who is going to buy the music and is going to relate to that person. So I’m hopefully going to be that voice of what we’re all doing at home.”
Makes sense to me. I imagine she’ll be the yin to Kara’s yang — Kara’s too busy trying to compete with Simon anyway.
More reasons to like Ellen on “Idol” — she’s hosted the “Idol Gives Back” for a few seasons, so audiences know her. She’s comfortable behind a camera and is able to keep her comments concise and to the point, which may mean more comment time for Simon. She’s not all about her, again, which leaves plenty of room for Simon, who is. She’s likeable and nice, and will be able to fill that space left by Paula, without the space-y comments.
On the other hand, while very funny, Ellen won’t be able to give us the many Paula-isms we’ve come to expect and that love/hate relationship with Simon.
The problem isn’t going to be with who fills that fourth spot, it’s the fact that there IS a fourth judge. Too many cooks in the kitchen leaves less time for what the show is really all about. Not Ryan Seacrest, but the singers themselves.
Being the “American Idol” fanatic that I am, I was not looking forward to a season without Paula — but with Ellen on board, count me in.
Think of the drama! Will Kara continue to squawk, trying to justify her position? Will Randy continue to take up dawg-space, blowing hot air with nothing to say? Will Ellen be a prima donna or a team player? But what I really wonder, will the fact that we now have an openly gay judge on the panel finally put an end to the un-funny “bro-mance” between Ryan and Simon?
Contact Nancy Wilson, a morning-radio personality at WHKO-FM (K99.1), by e-mail through the Web site at k99online.com.
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