AMERICAN IDOL fans have launched a grass-roots campaign to keep Paula Abdul as a judge on the No 1-rated US television show after her manager said she had not received a new contract proposal and might leave the singing contest.
Former Idol contestants joined in the #keepaula campaign on Twitter and American Idol Internet forums. Abdul – a mainstay of the show since 2002 – took to her own Twitter page to thanks fans for their support.
“If it weren’t for you, this specific time and situation would feel a lot worse! xoP,” Abdul wrote.Abdul’s manager, David Sonenberg, told the Los Angeles Times over the weekend that he had no new contract proposal from Idol producers, even though auditions are due to start on August 6 for Season 9, which will be broadcast in January 2010.“Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on Idol,” Sonenberg told the newspaper.Fellow judge Simon Cowell, who has cast doubt on his own future with American Idol after 2010, said on Monday he wanted Abdul back. “I don’t get a lot of say. I’ve just made it clear that I want Paula on the show,” Cowell told celebrity news show Extra.The fate of Kara DioGuardi, the fourth judge who joined “Idol” last year, is also uncertain.Despite sliding viewership, American Idol is still America’s most watched TV show with an average 26,3 million per episode. – Reuters.
