Producers may have actually figured out a way to make people watch the American Idol revival that nobody asked for or needed.
Their reported solution? To hire on Selena Gomez to sit at the judges’ table.
… You know? That just might work.
American Idol is coming back.
Hundreds — probably thousands, honestly — of people are literally lining up for their shot at stardom.
Their excitement is understandable, since even people who don’t win can end up signing huge record deals and launching music careers that last for decades.
The question remains: will people actually watch it?
Like, plenty of people will check it out, sure. But are there enough grandmas and chorus nerds out there who are going to want to give the show a second chance?
Clearly, those behind the revival are hoping so.
They’ve already gambled a whopping $ 25 million that Katy Perry sitting at the judges’ table is going to draw in viewers by way of her fans.
(That just makes me think of the saying “every year we get older, but Katy Perry fans stay the same age,” which really rings true … because her demo is not the coveted 18-35 range)
Katy Perry’s recent, abysmal hosting of the VMAs has producers in a panic.
They worry that they’re spending all of this money on her without having her audition, and that she’ll just be a flop as a judge.
Well, HollywoodLife reports that producers are preparing an offer for Selena Gomez to judge American Idol.
“Producers think that Selena would be great to join the judging panel because she’d bring in a younger crowd for ratings, she’d be considered the nice judge, and they would love her to join because the impact she has with social media.”
Well, Selena would bring in a younger crowd than the default American Idol crowd.
She is nice. Like, she knows all about performing, but we feel like she’d offer up constructive criticism.
(Katy, in the mean time, is said to be planning to be the harsh one)
And Selena is the most-followed person on Instagram, currently and also ever.
“They are putting together a proposal for her and are hoping she will accept it and join the show.”
That’s the thing — just because they propose it doesn’t mean that she’ll accept the gig.
But they know that.
“It’s a long shot but they are taking the chance to get her. They’d love to have her signed up and all judges by mid October.”
Now, this isn’t confirmed — but it’s very believable that the producers would want Selena Gomez.
But, like, people in hell want icewater.
Selena Gomez’s career is still going strong, despite being delayed by her ongoing battle with Lupus.
Just this summer, Selena Gomez got a kidney transplant thanks to her friend generously offering up one of her own kidneys.
Between the damage that Lupus does directly and the ravages of chemo, Selena Gomez’s fight for her health and life takes up a lot of time.
Plus she has her own career. And a relationship with The Weeknd.
And, you know, the rest of her life to live.
So … we’ll see.
There’s a question of how much ABC could possibly afford to spend to hire an all-star judges’ panel.
Which would be worse — spending $ 50 million a year on just two judges or offering Selena Gomez less than they’re paying Katy Perry?
The first could be a ludicrous use for their budget.
The second would just be an insult.
But if they make the right choices and Selena Gomez signs up … well, that will capture my interest, at least.
