With Simon, Kara and Ellen out, Paula could be back in, myFOXny.com reported late Thursday.
Paula Abdul left “American Idol” after eight years as a judge, but if returning executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has anything to do with it, she will be back in the judge’s seat after a one-season break.
Lythgoe said he is in a “rush rush” to get Abdul back. Even though she now has a contract with CBS, he says he wants the feisty 80s pop star to return to her “Idol” roots.
Abdul took to Twitter after Lythgoe’s remarks and quoted American philosopher William James, saying, “A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous & then dismissed as trivial, until finally it becomes what everybody knows.”
After Abdul replacement Ellen DeGeneres abruptly announced her intention to leave the show after just one season and Kara DioGuardi also bowed out, tongues began wagging about who would fill the two vacant hot seats.
Jennifer Lopez is rumored to be close to inking a deal with the show, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler told concert-goers in Las Vegas that he, too, was going to be an “Idol” judge, although no contract has been announced.
Resident meanie Simon Cowell previously announced his plan to leave “Idol” in favor of an adaptation of similar British show “The X Factor.” Randy Jackson will remain a judge for this season, making him the only surviving veteran critic.
