Paula Abdul Booted Off American Idol?

It does not seem credible to me, but, from the information that is out there, it seems as if American Idol's producers have taken a step beyond the standard negotiating type ploys and have instead made moves to get rid of Paula Abdul.

Paula Tweeted on Twitter about her sad state of mind regarding American Idol, Tweeting, ”I’m actually moved 2 tears upon reading the enormous amount of tweets showing me your kindness, love, & undying support. God bless all of you! If it weren’t for you, this specific time and situation would feel a whole lot worse!”

Paula's new manager, a guy named David Sonenberg, said, referring to the American Idol producers, "I find it under these circumstances particularly unusual, I think unnecessarily hurtful. I find it kind of unconscionable and certainly rude and disrespectful that they haven't stepped up and said what they want to do."

Sonenberg said due to the stalled talks it is unlikely Paula Abdul will be back on the show for the 9th season, which begins auditions tomorrow, August 6.

Ryan Seacrest recently signed a new 3 year deal with American Idol, making him the top paid Reality TV Host at $15 million a year for 3 years. Yes, that is $45 million in 3 years for Ryan Seacrest. Yet one more sign of how messed up the American economic system is.

American Idol: Judges Save Matt Giraud

I thought the "Judges Save" idea was a bit goofy when it was introduced. But it has added some entertainment value, even if it seems to negate the point of millions of people doing that voting thing.

The intense huddling as the judges deliberate also seemed a bit contrived.

It did not seem to me to be any great national tragedy that Matt Giraud was the one with the fewest votes and thus a ticket home.

The audience seemed to think it tragic though, chanting "SAVE HIM," like they were in the coliseum chanting for the Emperor to save a gladiator.

So, Matt sang for his life while Paula and Kara sang along, swaying to the music and looking as if they were witnessing a sad tragedy.

When the singing stopped the judges got in huddle and yell mode again, like you see in the picture. Then Simon delivered the news, telling Matt that he did not think his singing for his life attempt was as good as the night's before. That started up booing. And then, I forget the words used, but Simon let Matt know he'd been spared. Ryan then let us know that this drove Matt to tears and we were provided a closeup as proof, as the other survivors congratulated Matt in a celebratory fashion.

Simon then said something like, "I don't know what you are all so happy about because I have 2 bits of bad news for you. Number 1, next week two of you are going home and next week is Disco."

Two will probably deserve to go home next week after doing some BeeGees butchering.

New Season Of American Idol Will Be Emotionally Raw

Fox's president of alternative programming, Mike Darnell, in an interview in TV Week, said that when American Idol returns to TV on January 13 it will be "more real, more intimate and more raw."

Pressed to explain what in the world he meant, Darnell explained that American Idol "is going back to letting the kids be more emotional and seeing more of their reality, we're going to allow the public to see a little more of their emotional state."

Does this mean we are going to be seeing a lot more of Paula Abdul crying? I didn't realize that American Idol had not been allowing the public to see the kid's emotional states. If anything, to my eyes and ears, we get shown an awful lot of crying, screaming and other types of emoting.

The changes to American Idol will supposedly reflect changes in the mood of America, according to the Fox marketing chief, Joe Early, who told TV Week "It would be reaching to say we're trying to tie into the election itself, but what we are tapping into is what we've just been through and the mood of the culture and the state of our economy. We've been through a lot of divisiveness lately, and our message is, it's time to stop arguing and fighting, to all pull together."

Does this mean that Simon Cowell is not going to be so harsh and mean to the kids and Paula Abdul? I'm guessing I won't be able to detect any change if I decide to watch the next American Idol.