American Idols Live

The ratings powerhouse that is American Idols Live is readily approaching as its season premiere is now set for January, 2009. America Idols Live is fueled by none other than Judges Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and of course Simon Cowell. Add to these three the hosting talents of Ryan Seacrest and you have all of the ingredients needed for success. The man that truly is behind the award winning mega show is the executive producer of American Idols Live Simon Fuller. Though he may not be in the spotlight as much as the visible talents on the show he certainly deserves the credit and recognition for building American Idols Live into the phenomenon it has become.
As we anxiously wait for season 8 of American Idols Live we wonder what, or who the show may bring into the spotlight this year. Past successes include season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson, who has become a multiple Grammy winner. In the country music department we have the incredible singing voice of Carrie Underwood. Rock favorite Chris Daughtery has become a multi platinum recording artist without even being crowned winner of American Idols Live. The show has even unleashed an academy award winning singer and actress, Jenifer Hudson, who our hearts go out to at this difficult time for her. We also await the album release of last year’s winner David Cook who certainly has a bright future ahead of him. With such success stories, I’m sure Simon, Paula, and Randy, with the help of the American viewing audience will no doubt find another sensational artist to emerge as winner.

In the search for this sensation American Idols Live visited Louisville, Kentucky; Phoenix, Arizona; Salt Lake City, Arizona; San Francisco, California; Jacksonville, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Kansas City, Missouri, and East Rutherford, New Jersey. Thousands of contestant hopefuls auditioned, but only a handful will ever be seen on international television. In order to be featured on American Idols Live it seems you have to be extremely talented, comically horrible, or very original. Perhaps the show will take a more sensitive approach to its cutting floor in light of the tragic suicide from a Paula crazed fan that brought so much unwanted negative publicity to the show.

On a more positive note, American Idols Live has in recent seasons become a great cause for charity as it features its Idols Gives Back show every year. Last year they raised over 70 million dollars in one night of entertainment filled with great performances and celebrity endorsements. The money is used to fight hunger and poverty in Africa and in the United States. Last year they won the respect of the Television Academy as they were honored with the very covenant Governor’s Award.
With ratings soaring each year, and as more and more celebrities jump on the Idols bandwagon to showcase their own careers, American Idols Live shows no signs of slowing down. Short of losing Cowell or Seacrest, I see no reason the show won’t continue to strive for many more seasons. I look forward to what the future of American Idols Live has to sweep us off our feet and into the spotlight.

As the eighth season of the mega hit show American Idols Live quickly approaches, the fans of American Idols Live all have the same question on their mind, how will a new judge blend in with the show? Adding another judge to the already overwhelmingly successful formula mixture of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul is a very bold move on behalf of the producers of American Idols Live. Will this new judge become a key ingredient in the mix, or will this cause an explosion on the American Idols Live stage with a negative impact on the show. I ask this mainly because the new judge happens to be a very successful, beautiful, and talented woman, a few years younger than Paula.

I suspect there may very well be some tension on the judging block between Paula and the new talent in question, Kara DioGuardi. Perhaps this is what the producers of American Idols Live had in mind when they made this decision, to add a little more drama to the already soap operaish prime time talent show. This new addition has also raised questions of Paula’s future on American Idols Live, is she perhaps being weeded out. It is possible that Paula’s odd behavior in recent seasons, combined with the constant drama that follows her, and her diva attitude have become too much for them to handle. Another interesting point is the fact that Simon is newly single, will there be a cat fight on stage in a war for his attention. All of these questions are up in the air at the moment, however one thing is for certain, Kara DioGuardi is certainly qualified.

Her full name is Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi, born December 9, 1970. She is an American songwriter, record producer, and singer who have played a very influential role in dozens of famed songs. She has already worked with several alumni of American Idols Live which include season one winner Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and the newly famed David Archuleta. Add to that already impressive list Celine Dion and you can see she knows talent.

Kara won a BMI Cable Award for co-writing and performing Somethin’ To Say in 2003. It was the theme to the Lifetime Television series For the People, which starred Lea Thompson. She was named BMI’s Pop Songwriter of the Year in 2007. Between 2003 and 2007 she had received 10 BMI awards. At that time she had written the most performed songs on the radio. As of today, Kara DioGuardi has had over 46 albums in the Top 10 on Billboard magazine’s 200 album chart. Combined, her songs have sold over 100 million copies.

As for previous judging experience, she was a judge on the 2006 Idol type show called The One: Making a Music Star. Unfortunately, the show debuted with the second lowest ratings ever for the premiere of a prime time network show.

I suppose the producers thought that it was time for some big changes on the set of American Idols Live, but I just don’t know if adding a new female judge was the way to go. She isn’t well known enough to attract a new audience to the show, but if the diehard fans turn against her, or feel she’s taking away from Paula whom they’ve grown to love, her presence may very well hurt the show. I suppose only time will tell.