I'll Be The Judge Of That

American Idol may be on the way down, but it's still the #1 show and should remain high in the ratings for a while. Nevertheless, replacing Simon Cowell, the single most important person on the show, will be tricky.

For a while there's been a story that Howard Stern is under consideration. I can believe he's a name on the list, but I don't think they'd ever really choose him. He's too divisive a figure. He'd bring fans in, but more would probably leave. On the other side, I don't think he'd ever take the job. He has his own show, makes plenty of money, and likes to do things his way. He probably enjoys hearing his name out there, but even if the position were offered, I bet he'd turn it down.

It's a bad fit in any case. First, he's known for controversial material, the kind that doesn't fit easily on prime time. Second, it's doing things backwards. In the past, the show was popular and made the judges celebrities. This is taking celebrities (not in the music biz) and making them judges. What next--have famous singers compete?

Allegedly new judge Ellen DeGeneres doesn't want the show to hire Stern. Didn't she just start herself? Who does she think she is? I agree he's a bad choice, but for the same reason she's a bad choice. (As for judging music, he'd be a lot nastier, but he's also got better taste and considerably more background in it.)