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Now that Season 11 of ‘American Idol’ is over, we turn our attention towards speculating whether or not Jennifer Lopez will return to the show for Season 12. We went through this last year as well and we all hoped said speculation would turn into truth and J.Lo would decide to leave the show because she’s really bad at the job she’s supposed to do on it. Alas, she returned and in turn gave the third worst performance by a judge on a reality show of all time (for posterity, number one is Randy Jackson – ‘AI’ Season 11 and number two is Nicole Scherzinger – ‘X-Factor’ Season 1). Now, for the second year in a row, rumors are swirling that J.Lo will not be back (PLEASE BE TRUE and while you’re at it, take Randy with you!!!!!!), which of course means a slew of “who should replace her” articles. Hopefully, this is the first one. (Ed note: We actually kind of love J-Lo…she’s charmed us with her genuine caring for the Idol kids and she tries, but Pat is funny and we don’t censor funny.)
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JIMMY IOVINE!!!: Jimmy is the most obvious choice what with him being the only person associated with the show these days who is comfortable enough to actually critique anything. That his thoughts are usually spot on is an added bonus. I was no fan of Jimmy last year, I felt he went along with the script written by Nigel Lythgoe (It was called “Scottie Must Win, Now Follow In Kind, Please. Thank You.”), but he made up for it this year oftentimes calling – presumed producer-favorite Phillip Phillips – out when he stunk, unlike those other three buffoons. Jimmy’s attitude could up the game of those other two as well. Just something to think about.
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Linda Perry: Perry’s name always surfaces when talk of “new judges” starts on any music related reality show and with good reason – she’s a bona fide hit maker. And a good one. Her songs for Pink, Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani are some of the best pop songs of the last two decades and she brings with her charisma to spare. One gets the feeling Perry’s not one for mincing words and that’s exactly what this show needs.
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Stevie Nicks: I mean, why not? She couldn’t be worse than J.Lo and at the very least she’s a viable MUSIC ARTIST! I do fear that being coupled with Steven Tyler could lead to some indecipherable statements, but hell, at this point anything’s better than “goosies” and “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeybeeeeeeeeeeee.”
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Melinda Doolittle: Melinda was a great contestant on ‘Idol’ during season six and has been pulling duty over at tvline.com as co-host to Michael Slezak on his must watch ‘Idol’ web show ‘Idology.’ She’s fair, incisive and brings with her a knowledge of how the whole process works. All that, plus the promise that she’ll perform at least twice a year is reason enough to consider her.
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Miranda Lambert: Like her husband, ‘The Voice’’s Blake Shelton, Lambert is a likable no nonsense musician with both artistic credibility and massive popularity. She’s also a graduate of ‘Nashville Star’ which was the country version of ‘American Idol’ before ‘American Idol’ became the country version of ‘American Idol.’ She’s relevant, talented and sharp tongued. It’d be a step up.
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And finally for your consideration - Me: Yep, Pat Driscoll. I’ve been recapping this thing for two years and have seen every single episode of the series’ run. Enough of my arm chair critiques, let me put my money where my mouth is and see if I can’t convince America to pick a female ‘Idol’ for goodness sake. Full disclosure it’d by my M.O. for sure. I’m going in biased, y’all!
