ROUND 1: STARDOM SMACKDOWN
PAULA ABDUL: When Ellen DeGeneres took up Paula Abdul’s vacant post on AMERICAN IDOL, the world waited with baited breath to see if the talk show host could live up to expectations set by her predecessor. Would Ellen be the “nice judge” or would she carve a reputation of her own? Now that we’ve had a chance to see her in action, it’s time to decide who makes a better IDOL judge. Like Simon Cowell, the judges should be celebrities in their own right in order to attract viewers week after week. Paula’s claim to fame is as an ‘80s pop star, choreographer, and LA Lakers girl.
ELLEN DEGENERES: Meanwhile, Ellen has starred in two sitcoms, lent her voice to FINDING NEMO as Dory, and hosts her own Emmy Award-winning talk show. Best of all, Ellen’s success is current. She makes Paula look like yesterday’s news.
When it comes to big names, they don’t get much bigger than ELLEN! DeGeneres scores!
SCORE: PAULA ABDUL – 0
ELLEN DEGENERES – 1
ROUND 2: STREET CRED
PAULA ABDUL: Of course, what makes a good judge goes beyond simple name recognition. Credibility is also important. Paula packs a mighty punch when it comes to street cred because, after all, who is a better judge of singing talent than an experienced singer? No one.
ELLEN DEGENERES: Ellen might like to dance on her talk show, but, let’s be honest: she’s not a particularlygood dancer. Besides, even assuming that IDOL was a dance competition (which it’s not), Paula’s choreography would dominate DeGeneres’ dance moves any day. Granted, Ellen knows how to perform on stage, but she would be better suited to judge LAST COMIC STANDING.
Ellen loses her voice, while Paula sings her way into Round 3.
SCORE: PAULA ABDUL – 1
ELLEN DEGENERES – 1
ROUND 3: BAD BEHAVIOUR
PAULA ABDUL: Despite her credibility as a judge of singing talent, Paula’s turn as a judge on AMERICAN IDOL will be more remembered for the overemotional and erratic behaviour she often exhibited during the show, rather than her apt criticism.
ELLEN DEGENERES: The craziest thing that Ellen has done on IDOL so far is jump on stage to hug contestant Tim Urban. It was far from criminal, but it wasn’t exactly professional either.
Paula’s bad behaviour distracted viewers from the competition. Ellen pulls ahead…
SCORE: PAULA ABDUL – 1
ELLEN DEGENERES – 2
ROUND 4: VALIDITY VENGEANCE
PAULA ABDUL: Credibility and validity are two different things. Just because Paula has credibility doesn’t automatically mean that her comments are valid. In her case, however, they are spot on more often than not. She might have been known as the “nice judge”, but she wasn’t afraid to let contestants know when they missed the note.
ELLEN DEGENERES: By contrast, Ellen’s criticisms seem disingenuous. Perhaps it is because she is trying too hard to fit in, or simply doesn’t know what to say, but her tendency to fall back on song choice or pitch as problems sometimes leads her to criticize just for the sake of criticizing.
Anybody can criticize, but Paula Abdul is better at it. The score is tied!
SCORE: PAULA ABDUL – 2
ELLEN DEGENERES – 2
ROUND 5: PERSONALITY PUNCH
PAULA ABDUL: Ultimately, a good judge is someone with personality who can entertain as easily as he or she can criticize. Paula’s persona is bubbly and down-to-earth.
ELLEN DEGENERES: What Ellen lacks in experience in the music industry, she more than makes up for with her charm and wit. Her sense of humour breeds clever quips comparing contestants to unripe bananas and she’s not afraid to poke fun at herself.
Ellen bursts Paula’s personality bubble to snag the final point!
SCORE: PAULA ABDUL – 2
ELLEN DEGENERES – 3
ROUND UP: Paula likes to hear it “Straight Up”, so here it goes: Although IDOL and Ellenmaybe an odd couple, “Opposites Attract”. Paulamaybe more qualified to pass judgment in the search for the next singing sensation, but the show is called AMERICAN IDOL, not AmericanIdle. Ellen is a more current, better behaved, and funny character, making her a better IDOL judge. Period.
Web Links:
www.paulaabdul.com
www.ellendegeneres.com