Just when we all thought Paula Abdul’s 15 minutes were up an unknown singing competition came along and asked her to be a judge. Within a year’s time she became affiliated with one of the most popular shows in television history and her 15 minutes turned into an hour.
Now the “American Idol” judge is looking to encroach on another hot TV competition—ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” For months now rumors have been flying that Abdul is in the process of making a deal with her bosses at FOX and execs with the mega-popular dancing contest so that she can compete on “Dancing with the Stars” as a celebrity contestant.
Even DWTS host Tom Bergeron has publicly commented about the speculation. Bergeron recently revealed that Abdul confessed to him that she would love to do the show if her Idol schedule allowed. And Dancing’s next season revs up in the fall after Idol’s season is over… so… well, you do the math.
Adding fuel to the fire is Abdul herself. Bergeron gave a shout-out to the singer during last night’s show. But he didn’t have to raise his voice much–Abdul scored front-row seats to Monday night’s dance-off and took in the show next to Simon Cowell’s girlfriend, Extra correspondent Terri Seymour.
After the show Abdul gushed about what a huge DWTS fan she was and went on and on about how she sneaks into the ballroom on Tuesday nights (Idol’s soundstage is located adjacent to the studio where DWTS is shot) to see which celeb gets the boot.
So how close is Abdul to two-stepping her way onto next season’s celebrity roster?
“Listen, it would be a phenomenal experience for me to be a student and to learn a form of dance I’ve never been introduced to,” Abdul told reporters. “I don’t know how to do ballroom dancing. I’ve been a professional choreographer, not a professional dancer.”
Not a professional dancer?
Who is Abdul kidding?
Having Abdul compete on “Dancing with the Stars” is like having an overweight Lance Armstrong compete on “The Biggest Loser.” It’s unlikely the seven-time Tour de France winner would ever balloon to an unhealthy weight, but if he did he would know how to drop it without really trying.
Dancing is about rhythm, flexibility and timing. How could you successfully choreograph a dance if you didn’t understand and practice the fundamentals yourself?
Personally, I would boycott “Dancing with the Stars” if Abdul finagled her way on a future season.
Then again, survival on the show does hinge on viewer votes and by the way Abdul has carried herself off screen there’s a good possibility she wouldn’t make it beyond the first week anyway… no matter how well she moved.