Jennifer Lopez’s American Idol negotiations may have gone south, but a superstar may still end up on the judging panel for season 10 of FOX’s hit show. Shania Twain has long been at the top of the network’s list, according to a source close to the singer.
“They’ve been after her ever since she was a mentor on the show last season,” the source says. “And they haven’t given up.”
Twain stepped in for the Chicago auditions and “everyone thought she was a great addition to the judges’ table,” a show source said at the time. She also mentored the contestants in April.
Her name came up — along with other celebs, including Elton John, Chris Isaak and Harry Connick Jr. — as a possible permanent judge after Simon Cowell announced his departure last year.
“Shania’s a huge fan of the show and she had a great time as a mentor,” the source says.
Asked whether she’ll join the show, Twain’s rep had no comment.
FOX has no comment except to note that no judges have been confirmed yet for the show.
The third night (Tuesday) of American Idol auditions brought out guest judge Shania Twain, wearing a nice denim coat and giving off a pleasant air of sensible professionalism. For all that, Ryan Seacrest kept reminding us that golden tickets were not flying out of the audition chamber. In the end, only 13 were awarded out of 12,000 hopefuls in Chicago.
But some promising talents will be worth looking out for in Hollywood:
Charity Vance, a 16-year-old whose parents own a salon, sang the old warhorse “Summertime” with a “small voice,” noted Randy, but had “an interesting sound.” What a little blonde sparrow was she!
Angela Martin, 28, has already been chosen for Hollywood twice, but her Idol career has been torpedoed by troubles both tragic (her father’s death) and minor (a court appearance over a traffic violation). She had a great voice, and there is no reason she shouldn’t go again if the rules allow it.
John Park, a voice student, won praise from Shania for “a beautiful bottom end” — referring to his tone, not the backside of his jeans.
Keith Semple, shown only briefly, was enjoyably Kris Allen-ish.
Inspirational story of the week: Paige Dechausse, who nearly died at 15 when an asthma attack closed her throat while she was singing, had a tough and tearful time winning approval from three judges after she oversold an old Sam Cooke classic. Simon, displaying the typical, invaluable insight that pilots the Idol ship, wasn’t buying it. But Randy finally gave in and went along with Kara and Shania.
And now, send in the rejected clowns: A Tiny Tim impersonator named Brian Krause (a put-on?) … a woman billed simply as Crazy Accordian Lady … and Amy Lang, who scared the judges by falling down in a (fake) dead faint. Then she startled them by thrusting out her chest in a weird burlesque bump worthy of Showgirls. Kara dubbed it “boob-boxing.”
Jennifer Lopez’s American Idol negotiations may have gone south, but a superstar may still end up on the judging panel for season 10 of FOX’s hit show. Shania Twain has long been at the top of the network’s list, according to a source close to the singer.
