WHO: Judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, choreographers/guest judges Mia Michaels, Adam Shankman, host Cat Deeley, plus performances by Phillip Chbeeb, Jason Glover, Caitlin Kinney, Ade Obayomi, and Melissa Sandvig.
PREDICTIONS: Questions about when (not if) Paula Abdul will join the judging panel.
9:01 am/PST: Interesting that Fox slotted this panel before the exec session. Maybe they thought we’d get all the Paula Abdul questions out of our systems here and have nothing left for entertainment prez Kevin Reilly. As if!
9:04 am: Fox is once again trying to butter us up with free DVDs, coffee table books, and fattening snacks. Lots of fattening snacks.
9:18 am: With the live performance portion of the session out of the way, the panelists take to the stage and the Abdul question kicks things off. Lythgoe says he would ”absolutely” be interested in having Abdul join Dance. “I don’t know anybody who has had her experience being a dancer, choreographer, and a judge. I spoke to her yesterday morning. I didn’t discuss her negotiations [with Idol], but I said we were going to Vegas for Season 6 and I asked her if she would be available [to join us]. She’s going to come out and meet me [and discuss it].” He adds that he’s not convinced that her Idol days are behind her. ” I don’t even know that she’s going to leave Idol. Until Idol goes on the air [in January], there are still opportunities for renegotiations.”
9:32 am: Lythgoe invited Abdul to attend tonight’s Dance finale “but she’s on the East Coast working so she can’t come.”
9:33 am: Regarding the gay dance controversy from earlier this season, Lythgoe says he wasn’t ridiculing the same-sex duo’s “way of life. I didn’t go out there saying I don’t like homosexuals touching each other. I didn’t like [the way they danced].” In terms of how the routine was packaged and edited, he says (rather unconvincingly) that moving forward “we’ll think a lot more if it’s offensive.”
9:36 am: Lythgoe clarifies his earlier remarks re: Abdul: He’s not interested in having her join Dance as a full-time judge. A more likely scenario has her coming on as a guest judge. “I’m not a huge fan of four judges,” he says. “I don’t mind a fourth guest judge now and then… So, no, I’m not talking about [Abdul permanently] filling a third chair or a fourth chair.”
Paula would ruin SYTYCD. RUIN IT.
Word. Do not want.
AGREED!
I Second the Motion.
She was Horrible on Idol.. and She’ll be even worse on SYTYCD
Omg I agree also!!! I love SYTYCD, if they bring on Paula, I hope it is only as a choreographer and NOT a judge.
Mary is crazy enough! No Paula!
This would be a HUGE FAIL on the part of SYTYCD. Please, we’re all shiny and classy going into Fall, let’s not ruin it with Paula Abdul who is CRAZY!
Paula would be a great addition to SYTYCD. They would be very lucky to have her. She is an amazing dancer and choreographer and has so much experience. Plus, she is very entertaining!
Is Melissa Strong the same as Melissa Sandvig? Just curious.
I’m sure the SYTYCD panel came before the Exec Session since they’re taping the finale tonight, they needed to be done with their panel as early as possible.
She belongs on Idol where her chemistry with the others was a huge component, but really she is equally if not more qualified for SYTYCD with her history of choreographing Janet Jackson and others.
I would love to see Paula on SYTYCD!
I would love to see Paula on SYTYCD! Bring her on!
A small reminder to Nigel regarding the 2 male ballroom dancers: only one of them was gay, the other was straight. They were just dancing together.
Paula as a GUEST judge, maybe. Please not permenant.
please no! she is my least favorite judge on idol cause she makes zero sense and usually just gives compliments not critique. Plus I don’t think I could handle both her and mary.
I’ll have to stop watching if Paula becomes a judge… she’s the WORST!
she would be a good ONE time judge. she would be horrible as a full time judge. she would ruin the show.
She should not be on SYTYCD. Despite her credentials on paper, we have seen her in action as a judge on IDOL for years now. She belongs there, if anywhere. I believe she would ruin SYTYCD. Of course, Nigel should know exactly what he is getting with her, so perhaps he has a secret way of ensuring she makes sense on the particular night she makes an appearance.
Please no! I probably would stop watching!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think she’d be better off being on a show that has dancing in it rather than singing because honestly, she was never that great of a singer. Judging for a dancing show would make a LITTLE bit more sense… haha.