In this week’s print edition of Us Weekly, there’s a piece called “Stars’ Shocking Demands”. Some of it is old information from concert riders and older interviews, but there are a few good ones that I’ve never heard. Here’s a good story: Jennifer Lopez was scheduled to appear at this year’s Billboard Music Awards until she heard that Beyonce was getting an award. Jennifer’s people tried to force Billboard to give an award to Jennifer too, and when they refused, Jennifer pulled out of her appearance. Also: Jennifer Aniston requests specific cheeses when she’s traveling – and no goat or blue cheeses. But the absolute best one is about Paula Abdul – her poor assistants:

Straight up: Anyone interested in getting hired as Paula Abdul’s assistant should get ready to tend to a kooky list of daily demands.

Among the 49-year-old X Factor judge’s requests, according to an insider? Each assistant must carry and use a tape recorder at all times “because she doesn’t trust her own conversations,” the source says.

“She also makes them check the TiVo for any mention of her and put it on a DVD.”

Abdul team members should also prepare to go through her email — and respond to family and friends as the star herself.

The “Forever Your Girl” singer also needed constant reminders that she is a “warrior, survivor and gift,” adds the insider.

[From Us Weekly]

LMAO at “because she doesn’t trust her own conversations.” You have to tape every conversation Paula has because she doesn’t trust the people she’s talking to – OR HERSELF. As for the “warrior, survivor and gift” part – of course. Of course, Paula, you are a warrior. So many battles! Sorry, so many self-made battles. I wonder how she trains a new assistant to do that? Like, is it in a contract? Or on the assistant’s first day of work, Paula just comes up to him and yells, “Say I’m a warrior and a gift!!”? I can’t really hate on crazy Paula, though. She’s too funny. Unemployable, but funny.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi used to be roommates with Paula Abdul back before Idol. The way Paula and Kara explain it, Idol Producers brought Kara in without knowing that the two were old friends. Kara has spoken in the past about how she suffered from a binge eating disorder around the time she was living with Paula. Paula noticed it, and just made it sound like Kara would wake up in the middle of the night and sleepwalk and eat. Maybe that’s how Paula made sense of the situation when a bunch of food went missing the next day.

Anyway Kara told a story on the George Lopez show about how she found some small brownies in Paula’s fridge, ate them and got really high. She called an ambulance later when she felt strange, never realizing that there were some drugs in the dessert. It must have been more than just pot because she had hallucinations and had to be hospitalized for a few days. It turns out that the brownies were left the freezer after someone brought them to Paula’s house during a party. The maid took them out to thaw, ate one too and had to be hospitalized:

Appearing on “Lopez Tonight” on Wednesday to push her new show, “Platinum Hit,” DioGuardi, the short-lived “Idol” judge, told the host about a certain baked good she ingested while Abdul was on vacation. Let’s just say chocolate wasn’t the featured ingredient in the treat.

“There were these, little nuggets, little, you know, take six, not a lot. Six hours later I was like, ‘heeeey, what’s going on?’” DioGuardi remembered. “I fell out of bed, on the floor, I stumbled downstairs and I was like, ‘I ate too much.’ And the ambulance comes and is like, ‘this b*tch is as high as a kite.’”

The end result? Three days in the hospital, hallucinations and IV fluids. But it could have been worse.

“The maid took them out, she was in the hospital, I had six, I almost died,” she said.

But no worries: the brownies didn’t belong to Abdul, she said; instead, a friend had left them there after a party. What were actually in those brownies, though, remains unknown.

[From Huffington Post]

That sounds awful and like one of those stories that’s only funny years later when you retell it.

Kara also told a story about how a friend introduced her to Steven Tyler and she got him the job on American Idol. It sounded realistic and not like she was bragging about it. She just said a friend of hers brought Tyler over to her house, they were jamming together and she asked Tyler if he ever considered Idol.

Kara has a new songwriting competition show on Bravo called Platinum Hit that premieres on Monday. There are reality shows centered around just about every career and industry, so why not songwriting? That’s not to say I think it will be a hit.

Here’s the video of Kara on The George Lopez Show. The pot story starts at 4:30.

Kara is shown on 4/12/11 at the Elle Women in Music event. Credit: Fame Pictures

After a lot of speculation, Paula Abdul has joined Simon Cowell’s X Factor as a fellow judge. Accompanying her on the panel will be Cowell, British singer Cheryl Cole and American music producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls and British TV presenter Steve Jones will co-host the show, which premieres in September and just started filming on Sunday, with Paula there.

The ‘X Factor’ judging panel is complete, with the final chair to be filled by Paula Abdul, who just closed the deal in last-minute negotiations, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Abdul will take her seat alongside Simon Cowell, reuniting the former ‘Idol’ stars once again. Cheryl Cole and Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid have already been named as the other ‘X Factor’ judges.

Meanwhile, Pussycat Doll and former ‘Dancing With the Stars’ champ Nicole Scherzinger has been hired to host the U.S. talent competition when it premieres on Fox in September.

But Scherzinger will have a co-host, according to EW.com: Steve Jones, British TV personality. Jones, 34, is a Welsh-born former model and a virtual unknown in the U.S. (Of course, Ryan Seacrest was largely unknown when he was tapped to emcee ‘American Idol,’ and the gig seems to have worked out for him!) Jones reportedly was down to the wire competing for the ‘X Factor’ job against ‘High School Musical’ star Corbin Bleu.

Scherzinger, 32, wowed producers when she was a guest judge on a recent episode of the ‘X Factor’ in the U.K., where she also released a hit single this year, ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath.’

Abdul, 48, reportedly hammered out her new contract just in the nick of time: The judging rounds of ‘X Factor’ begin taping in Los Angeles today. [Sunday]

[From Popeater]

Well Paula will certainly make things more interesting, if not harder to understand. Cowell needed a big name to join him on the panel and while Reid and Cole are both famous they don’t have Paula’s name recognition. I like her and find her very sweet, but she’s definitely loopy as hell. She’s a fun sidekick for Simon though and he’ll be recreating the most interesting judge dynamic from Idol by having her join him on X Factor. Idol producers really screwed up the panel by bringing in Kara DioGuardi in 2009 and kind of forcing Paula out. I kind of understand why they did it though. She can’t be easy to work with.

These photos are from outside the X Factor taping on 5/8/11. I find them kind of mesmerizing and I love Paula’s goofy purple dress and shoes. They’re perfect for her. Credit: WENN.com

The National Enquirer has run a lot of insider stories on Paula Abdul’s dealings with American Idol, so this story might come from a reliable source. They’re reporting that Abdul is gloating over the fact that the show seems to be struggling now that Simon has left and they’ve replaced the entire judge’s panel except for Randy. Paula is said to be claiming that the show is all but over and producers have no one to blame but themselves. They reportedly failed to meet her salary requirements but ended up paying J.Lo more.

“Mark my words, you are watching the death of ‘American Idol’! It’s on it’s last legs! No one can save it!” Paula told a pal.

Paula – who exited the show in a huff over salary issues just before last season – it tickled that producers are having trouble finding entertaining judges and worthy contestants for the 10th edition of the one-time powerhouse reality series, which begins in January.

“She believes it serves them right for letting her walk away,” an insider told The Enquirer. “Paula still believes that she was the best thing ‘Idol’ had going for it, and producers let her slip through their fingers by being so tightfisted when she was renegotiating her contract…”

And the 48-year-old singer/choreographer is gloating even more since it was revealed that “Idol” producers had to shell out $12 million to get J.Lo – $2 million more than Paula had asked for.

“What goes around comes around,” Paula told her pal. “The show could have saved a lot of aggravation and money if they had just given me what I deserved.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 11, 2010]

I know Paula wasn’t always “there” and was sometimes loopy and incoherent, but I liked her on Idol and I think she’s partially right. She right in that producers should have kept her on, but in no way is that show “over.” Idol may be slipping in the ratings and occasionally getting bested by Dancing with The Stars, but it’s still a television juggernaut. Even if its ratings slip it’s wildly popular and will continue to be on television for years. The show really lost out by losing Simon, though, not Paula.

Paula Abdul is shown on 0/17, 6/13 and 5/26/10. Credit: WENN.com

Ever since Paula Abdul showed up to the season finale of this year’s “American Idol” to give Simon Cowell a farewell speech that sounded like someone’s drunk relative grabbing the microphone at a wedding, people have been talking about the possibility of her returning to the show. According to the latest rumor, Paula wants to come back, but the producers of her new dance reality show aren’t letting her.

American Idol producers, fearing a ratings crash now that Simon Cowell’s gone buh-bye, negotiated furiously to bring ex-judge Whack-a-Doodle back next year as a guest mentor after viewers cheered her on the season finale, and Paula accepted! But producers of Paula’s new show, “Got to Dance,” immediately barked, “Not so fast.” Why? Although Paula’s contract doesn’t prohibit her from appearing on another network, it does clearly state that she can’t appear opposite “Dance.” The “Dance” guys are hoping to attract viewers fed up with “Idol” now that Simon’s gone, and figure they might suck them in by slotting Paula’s show opposite “American Idol.” Bottom line? Paula cannot accept an offer from “American Idol” unless and until “Got to Dance” decides not to put their show opposite “Idol.” Said Paula: Waaaaaahhhhhh! When will that be? (Or words to that effect.) “We’ll let you know,” said her Dance masters. Stay tuned.

[From The National Enquirer print version, July 5, 2010]

Who would have thought that Paula Abdul would become such a hot commodity on television? I don’t get it. She’s barely able to speak in complete sentences. What kind of advice is she going to offer as a “Guest Mentor?” The only entertaining part of Paula’s time on the show was her incoherent bickering with Simon. But a lot of people love her, and the show did slip a bit in the ratings this past season, so I guess it makes sense that they’d want her back in some capacity. But her real area of expertise is dance- not singing. So maybe she should focus on this new show and let “Idol” continue to be a sinking ship.

There are rumors mounting that the producers of Fox’s top rated show, American Idol, are starting to sweat in the face of lower viewer ratings. While the show is consistently at the top of the ratings chart – it even beat out the Olympics back in February – compared to last year’s audience numbers, the show is starting to slip. Nielsen has this year’s audience at about 7 percent less than last year’s at this time in the competition, and last week, “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC actually beat it at the top of the charts. So, what are show producers doing about it? If you believe In Touch Weekly, they’re hoping to bring back loopy ex-judge Paula Abdul for next season.

It’s a huge secret, but America Idol producers might be trying to woo Paula Abdul back to the struggling show. Although still immensely popular, ratings are way down this season compared to when Paula was on the panel, and executives fear the loss of even more viewers when Simon Cowell leaves after this season. “They want Paula back,” the insider says. “They’re not sure if she’d be the fifth judge, but they are talking to her. People tuned in to see Paula’s wacky antics and her chemistry with Simon. The show is just not as much fun to watch without her.”

[From In Touch Weekly print version, April 16, 2010]

I don’t think Paula is the answer. If people tuned in to see her “wacky antics and chemistry with Simon,” what good will it be to bring her back next season when Simon leaving at the end of this season?If they could replace the annoying Kara DioGuardi with Paula, that might bring some viewers back. But that doesn’t address the more pressing issue of lackluster talent and way too many commercials and product placements, especially during the “results” show on Wednesday night. Maybe the show has just run its course.

Paula Abdul is shown on 3/27 and outside a restaurant on 4/13. Credit: WENN.com

Everyone said that “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul was committing career suicide by walking away from the show after tense contract re-negotiations, but after witnessing the show’s painful decline in quality this season, you have to wonder if Paula is less crazy and more crazy like a fox. The 80′s pop star turned TV personality is in high demand and sources say she is close to making a deal with former cast mate Simon Cowell to work together again on his new show, “The X Factor.” And get this – she was advised to take the deal and turn down ABC’s offer to host “Star Search” by her ex, Arsenio Hall.

Paula Abdul turned down big bucks to host a new ABC version of “Star Search” – and she did it on the advice of her old beau Arsenio Hall, sources say.

Now the former “American Idol” judge is continuing talks with music producer mogul Simon Cowell to be a key player on his show “X Factor” next season.

“Paula was very tempted to do ‘Star Search’ and negotiations went right down to the wire,” an insider told The Enquirer. “But at the last minute Arsenio persuaded her not to do the show because it has already been done – by him!”

Arsenio, 55, hosted the revival of “Star Search” on CBS in 2003, but that reboot of the old Ed McMahon-hosted show failed to catch on with viewers.

“Arsenio told Paula that she should stake out new ground for herself and not rehash something that has been done several times,” said the insider. “He encouraged her to look to the future, and he believes for Paula, the future is ‘X Factor.’”

Paula, 47, and Arsenio dated 20 years ago. As the Enquirer reported, she rekindled her romance with the former late-night talk show host/comedian last fall, but they have since decided to be just friends.

And when ABC approached Paula to host a revamped “Star Search” Arsenio convinced her that the program- with its vintage variety show-style format – was too dated for young viewers.

“He felt it would compare unfavorably with the fresher ‘Idol’ and ‘X Factor’ formats,” explained the insider. “Paula was won over by Arsenio’s argument, even though the deal offered to her by ABC was one of the highest the network has ever made to a female star. Arsenio knows that Paula is very close to signing on to do ‘X Factor’ with Simon Cowell, and he feels that’s the best move for her.”

[From The National Enquirer Print Version, April 5, 2010]

Arsenio might be right about X Facto vs. Star Search – but really, aren’t they both rehashed at this point? “X Factor” is basically Simon ripping off his own UK show and “Idol.” It’s not all that orginial. As for Arsenio, should he really be giving anyone career advise? His career was no great shakes before he signed on to host “Star Search,” but after the show tanked, he kind of disappeared. I did see him in a small cameo role in the hilarious blaxploitation parody “Black Dynamite” recently, and he was really funny. I always thought Arsenio was a talented guy who had a hard time living in Eddie Murphy’s shadow. Anyway, back to Paula. We all know she is really in love with Simon, so stop beating around the bush and just sign the contract already!

Paula Abdul walked away from her cushy gig as the “nice” (read: loopy) judge on “American Idol,” and now that move appears to be paying off. Amid rumors that Paula’s old frenemy Simon Cowell is trying to lure her onto his new “X Factor” show, it’s also being reported that ABC is heavily courting her, both for that show and for their hit talent show “Dancing With the Stars.” The rumor is, ABC is offering Paula a cool $1 million development deal to do both shows. No word on whether she’d be a contestant or a judge.

Paula Abdul has a million reasons to appear on “Dancing with the Stars.”

ABC has offered Abdul a $1,000,000 development deal, with one catch — she has to appear on “DWTS,” sources tell TMZ.

ABC has been going after Paula for a few years now, trying to get her on “DWTS.”

According to the proposed deal, ABC would allow Paula to do “The X Factor” with Simon Cowell. We’re told Simon and Paula met a week ago to discuss the show, and it looks like it will happen.

Paula has to make a quick decision — we’re told the ABC offer is contingent on Paula doing “DWTS” this season, which starts in March.

A rep for ABC says they don’t comment on prospective cast members.

[From TMZ]

Who knew that Paula Abdul would be in such high demand? Seriously – if you or I showed up to our job barely able to speak in coherent sentences, would anyone be flashing a seven-figure paycheck in our faces? Sometimes, Hollywood baffles me. But hey – if ABC is looking for loopy, they hit the jackpot. And Paula does have a lot of loyal fans who will probably follow her to her next gig. I guess as long as ABC understands what they’re getting with Paula, it’s all good.

Photo note by Kaiser: Damn, Paula looks great in these photos! Here’s Paula leaving Larry King’s studio on january 18, 2010. Credit: Pacific Coast News.

It looks like those rumors last month that British judge Simon Cowell might be leaving “American Idol” are true. Reports are coming in that the show’s producers are already making plans for Cowell’s departure after this season. Idol producers are supposedly downplaying Simon’s presence on the show this season, opting instead to focus more on the contestants and new judge Ellen Degeneres.

‘Idol’ Is Downsizing Simon

Sources tell me that producers of ‘American Idol’ have a plan on how to make sure the show survives if Mr. Simon Cowell does in fact leave at the end of this upcoming season.

“Expect to see less and less of Simon this season. The focus is going to be back on the contestants and less on Simon’s harsh criticisms of them,” an insider tells me. “They also will be spending more time focusing on Ellen once she gets through her first few weeks live from Hollywood.”

That might not be such a bad idea. Watching millionaires make fun of kids’ appearances and laughing when they leave the room feels is so last century to me. After all, many shows have not only survived hosts leaving — they have thrived. (Katie Couric, anyone?)

FOX, never one to beat around the bush, tells me: “FOX has no comment.”

The brilliant Adam Hanft, CEO of marketing firm Hanft Projects, agrees. “Ideas outlast their hosts. It was and is true for the ‘Tonight Show’ and ‘The Today Show’ and it’s proved true for ’60 Minutes.’

[From PopEater]

Randy Jackson spilled some beans on the upcoming season in an interview with Billboard magazine. But the “Dawg” remains skeptical on Simon’s departure. Yeah, like anyone tells Randy what’s going on.

Though DeGeneres won’t be part of the “Idol” judging process until the Jan. 12 premiere on Fox, Jackson expects her to be a “fun” addition to the show. He adds that he and returning judges Simon Cowell and Kara DioGuardi enjoyed having guest judges for the regional auditions in June and July and call-backs in August and September, a corps that included Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas, Shania Twain, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, the Spice Girls’ Victoria Beckham, Neil Patrick Harris and Kristin Chenoweth.

“They all really did their thing,” Jackson recalls. “Of course, Mary J. Blige was really amazing. I was impressed with Joe Jonas; I didn’t really know how he would be, but he was great. Shania was brilliant…Even Neil Patrick Harris and Kristin Chenoweth, who were both from the theater world, were really amazing and had great things to say.”

Jackson was also surprised by what he heard in front of the judges table during the audition process. “I think generally what happens is whoever wins that season, you get more and more of that. But this season’s a little different. I would’ve thought you’d have a trillion Adam Lamberts show up, or a trillion Kris Allens. But that’s not what happened. It was very interesting. This is a whole different bunch.”

Jackson says he’ll miss Paula Abdul this year — “She started this thing with us. It’s a sad thing…not to have her there.” — but noted that DioGuardi seems more comfortable after having an “Idol” year under her belt. “I think she’s got a different grasp on understanding what it is and what happens and how to do it,” he says. “It’s one of those things, like golf or tennis; it looks easy on the outside, then when you try and actually hit the ball you go, ‘Whoa, OK, it’s a little different than what I thought.’ But, yeah, she’s having a good time.”

As for rumors about Cowell leaving “Idol” to bring his British “X-Factor” to the U.S., Jackson says that “I won’t believe it ’til I see it. I haven’t spoken to him about it. You just never really know; there are a lot of alleged things going on, but who knows, right? We’ll see what happens.”

[From Billboard]

I think we’re witnessing the beginning of the end of American Idol. While the departure of Paula Abdul was probably a good thing- the woman was strung out on some kind of chemical and could barely utter a sentence half the time – the addition of Kara DioGuardi and the loss of Simon might be too much for the show to recover. At the end of the day, the show should be all about finding the best talent, but even that aspect is becoming increasingly mediocre. Isn’t last year’s winner, Kriss Allen, pretty much a watered-down version of John Mayer? I predict that this year’s ratings will be high, at first, and then plummet as the season goes on. People will tune in to see Ellen Degeneres debut as a judge, but quickly lose interest.

Simon Cowell in London on December 13, 2009. Credit: WENN.

Paula Abdul was the most coherent I’ve seen her in years at the VH1 “Divas Live” concert – she even turned in a not-too-shabby impersonation of her American Idol replacement, Ellen Degeneres. But even though Paula showed off her new-found lucidity, not to mention a sense of humor, one person she still doesn’t find funny is comedian/reality star/best-selling author Kathy Griffin. Abdul has been the punchline of many a Griffin joke, and when the two were asked to work together at the VH1 event, Paula bristled at the idea of sharing stage time with Kathy.

After a barrage of insults from Kathy Griffin, the former “American Idol” star nearly refused to co-present with the comedian at Thursday night’s VH1 Divas concert.

“Paula had to be coaxed onstage to present with Kathy,” an insider reveals. “Kathy has made fun of her A LOT in the past, and she’s still pretty offended. She was leery about what Kathy might say about her in public.”

The flame-haired funnygirl continually roasts Abdul for her alleged penchant for popping pills, calling her a “junkie” with a “Vicodin problem.” She’s even mentioned in Griffin’s new release, “Official Book Club Selection.”

“It’s very tough for me emotionally,” Griffin has joked of Abdul’s departure from “Idol.” “I can’t imagine my life without Paula. In a way that Paula can’t imagine her life without, let’s say, a little Vicodin.”

Griffin certainly didn’t seem to realize anything was amiss at the concert, where she delivered zingy one-liners like “I see you giving me the evil eye, Paula,” and asking if the former judge had ever seen her co-star, Simon Cowell, naked.

Abdul finally got her chance to get Griffin back. She took an uncommon amount of pleasure in retaliating, “Have you ever banged anyone? Hey, listen, Firecr—h!”

But is all well that ends well? Hardly. Paula asked Kathy to promise – in front of the live audience – that she won’t make fun of her kooky ways anymore. But unlike Paula’s scripted question, Griffin went off the TelePrompTer and said, “I pinky swear I won’t make fun of you … until Kelly Clarkson comes on.” Since that moment was about 10 seconds later, it looks like Kathy still isn’t ready to make nice.

And although the ladies were cordial backstage, a second source says they definitely wanted to go their separate ways once the cameras were off. Griffin ditched the Divas’ Save the Music post-concert fete in Brooklyn, while Abdul was the life of the afterparty.

Chances are the harmony won’t last. “You know Kathy,” laughed the insider. “She’s going to make fun of Paula the very next chance she gets!”

Griffin and Abdul reps didn’t respond to calls for comment.

[From NY Daily News]

I love me some Kathy Griffin. She sure does have a lot of showbiz enemies, though. I like how she has built her entire career out of being snubbed by celebrities – it’s to the point where a lot of stars are afraid to even be in the same room with her (including Barbara Walters), because their Hollywood antics will undoubtedly end up in her stand-up act. My take on it is this: if you’re famous, and you walk around acting delusional, full of yourself, or like a self-entitled jerk, then you should expect a few of Kathy’s barbs – but for heaven’s sake, don’t take it personally. It’s a comedy act! Let’s face it: anyone who’s watched American Idol can see that Paula Abdul, sweetheart though she may be, is definitely popping a few pills. I mean, there were nights when she could barely speak! It’s the worst kept secret in Hollywood. Kathy doesn’t take any prisoners – that’s how she rolls. If a few fragile egos can’t handle that, then maybe they should stop acting so loopy in public. Just a suggestion.