Could season 11 be the last for Ryan Seacrest on ‘Idol’?
Former Dunwoody resident Ryan Seacrest starts his 11th season with "Idol" on Jan. 18. Could this be his final year? CREDIT: AP
Ryan Seacrest, with blond tips and Brian Dunkleman in tow, launched “American Idol” nearly ten years ago. Entering season 11, a much wealthier, darker-haired Seacrest is about to hit a crossroads.
His three-year, $45 million contract expires after this season. Is Seacrest ready to truly say, “Seacrest out?”
Hollywood Reporter speculates that given the show’s declining ratings trajectory (season 10 notwithstanding), he may have to take a pay cut to stick around. Simon Fuller, who was a big ally of Seacrest, the story noted, is no longer involved. Producers could pay a replacement significantly less, of course, than $15 million.
But for Seacrest, given what else he has on his plate and what else he could do, what more does he have to prove on “Idol”? Leaving for him would hardly be a tragedy. And “Idol” survived the departure of Simon Cowell. Nobody is sacred.
At the same time, Steve Jones’ abysmal performance on “X Factor” highlighted how good Seacrest can be. Great hosts are hard to find.
Given his ties to NBCUniversal, Seacrest could end up at “The Today Show” as a Matt Lauer replacement and is already set to contribute during the 9 a.m. hour.
- Wendy Williams gives Fantasia the business about her baby with a married (separated) dude, Antwaun Fisher. Williams: “You had control of this entire situation. As a wife, you were dead wrong on this one, Fantasia… You haven’t sung in ages. You have a family we saw on that great reality show that blood sucks financially off of you. You weren’t in a position to have another child, especially with a man who works at T-Mobile store and has two children… Get back to work!”
- Random celebrity appearance on “Price is Right”: Check out Daughtry! He said his late grandmother loved the show and gets money for an Alzheimer’s Foundation charity. He reads cue cards impressively well!
- Notes from a TV Guide “Idol” cover story:
- Lots of fainting, passing out during Hollywood round.
- Lots of Adele covers, esp. “Someone Like You.”
- Tyler said he could have been harsher last year. “I was at a loss for words, which I’m usually never,” he said, about some bad singers.
- Lopez said it was hard to say no in the beginning but she found her voice over time.
- Lopez: “We’re just as honest and just as compassionate, but maybe a tiny bit more blunt about it. I think you’ll see a little bit of difference.”
- Jackson said the obvious (as he usually does). “X Factor” is more produced, focuses more on judges than the talent. Idol is “more intimate.”
- When asked if there are too many of these shows, Jackson kind of thinks so: “There will probably be a little saturation because I think, how many times can you watch people sing? I don’t know.”
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© 2012 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
95 comments Add your comment
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
3:55 pm
Well sure it’ll be Ryan’s last season. Idol’s on its death bed. It’s history. It’s toast! Has been for, what? seven years?
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
3:56 pm
Oh… and I need to get a life, rather than blog about the most useless show in the history of television.
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
3:58 pm
Deirdre
January 5th, 2012
4:05 pm
Nooooooooooooooo! These days(especially after the anti-Seacrest) Ryan is the best thing about Idol!
As for Wendy Williams’ comments on Fantasia…YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!
Lot’s of fainting? Aren’t they feeding those kids?
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
4:09 pm
Had some serious MTV/Robert Palmer “Addicted to Love” flashbacks with the first showcase showdown.
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
4:16 pm
Mark this day down in history, folks. As much as it pains me to say this…. I agree 100% with Wendy!
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
4:32 pm
They could pay me a whole lot less than $15 million. I’d do it for…. oh… say $3 million. I wouldn’t be as good as Ryan… but I’d be a whole lot better than Robo-host Jones.
Mercedes S.
January 5th, 2012
4:40 pm
Don’t know who Wendy is, but I love her!
Seacrest – yes, if he gets the morning show there’s no reason to stay on Idol. Make way for Roboto!
Daughtry = good sport.
JTesla
January 5th, 2012
4:46 pm
Ok, start the bets: how long until someone makes a “Ryan is gay” reference (not counting my bet)? I say 3 hours from this post.
Otherwise, good for Ryan, he is a busy man and I think he should go before the show slowly fades away.
Wendy Williams: THANK YOU! Stop defending this crap and start calling people out on it.
Harriett
January 5th, 2012
4:48 pm
Busy day, and not much time to comment. I am not up on the subject of the last thread enough to comment, but my take on this one is “Please stay!”
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
4:59 pm
Have a great evening everybody.
Rickster
January 5th, 2012
5:01 pm
But one last comment: Bring Back Dunkelman!!
Could season 11 be the last for Ryan Seacrest on ‘Idol’? | ATLANTAboy.com | Gay Atlanta Celebrity, Film, Movie & TV News
January 5th, 2012
5:16 pm
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Deirdre
January 5th, 2012
5:31 pm
JT, people are just starting to get home from work here so I think your 3 hour window might be spot on.
Eric
January 5th, 2012
6:11 pm
I agree with Rickster. I believe ‘American Idol’ has over-stayed its welcome… along with several other reality shows… ‘The Biggest Loser’, ‘The Amazing Race’, ‘The Bachelor’, ‘The Bachelorette’… to name a few.
I’ve been hearing rumors and rumblings about Ryan Seacrest possibly replacing Matt Lauer as co-host of ‘Today’. Lauer’s contract is set to expire around December, 2012 or January, 2013. I don’t know if Seacrest would help or hurt NBC’s long-running and top-rated morning show. We’ve not heard the last of this.
Seth T.
January 5th, 2012
7:01 pm
I have worked with some of the local talent shows in my area, and could recommend some very, very good hosts. But, they are always looking for the “Celebrity” status or some connected link –for the big TV shows.
The Steve Jones experiment was a massive fail, and shows that the judgement of Simon and the Producers is often flawed. They are simply onto a TV Reality show that has it’s own momentum and can sustain the mistakes and poor decisions and get another year of contract renewal.
The host of The Sing-Off, did very well.
Deirdre
January 5th, 2012
7:04 pm
I thought Nick Lachey was stiff and did only a fair job at reading his cue cards. His extemporaneous comments were stilted. He was still way better than the XF guy.
Deirdre
January 5th, 2012
7:07 pm
Of all the hosts of LIVE tv…emphasis on “live” since Jeff Probst keeps winning Emmys for a taped, scripted show…the best are Seacrest, Deeley and Bergeron. Carson Daly of The Voice is not very good, neither is The Sing-off host, Nick Lachey. Steve Jones was a joke.
JTesla
January 5th, 2012
7:11 pm
Joe Rogan does great on Fear Factor. Steve Jones shouldn’t even be mentioned with those that aren’t that good, because he was that much worse.
DanJ
January 5th, 2012
7:58 pm
As long as Idol is on the air Seacrest will be there. 15 million isn’t exactly chump change and if you factor in he makes that for about 4 months work. Not bad. My guess is he we be signed win a raise. All he has to do to get Idol to throw more money at him is say that he’s been in contact with Simon Cowell about working on XFactor.
To his credit Ryan is the glue that holds American Idol together. If Ryan left it would be like Dick Clark leaving American Bandstand. It would be hard for Idol to find a replacement. Ryan’s popularity comes for the exposure on Idol, if he left his fan base might take a hit. Since Ryan is a smart guy I think he will stay until the end.
Branch Loveless
January 5th, 2012
9:30 pm
Methinks this will be the last season for EVERYONE associated with “Idol”…if the world ends in October or December or whenever the latest prediction says it will!!!
It is 2012, you know.
Deirdre
January 5th, 2012
9:52 pm
The Idol job is a little longer than 4 months. Ryan is often at the mass cattle call city auditions. They usually start in July. He also is at all the prelim auditions with the judges which begin in Sept.. He is part of Hollywood week too which takes place in Dec.
That being said, Idol showed no sign of faltering last season(new judges gave it a shot in the arm) so I think the idea of this being Ryan’s last season is more of a publicity thing than anything else. Unless Idol drops out of the top 5 in ratings this year, Ryan will be back.
JTesla
January 5th, 2012
9:52 pm
Good call Branch, I need to remember to ask for December 21st off work. Last thing I want is to have to work the day the world ends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcc_KAhwpa0&feature=share
Deirdre
January 6th, 2012
7:22 am
Morning!
In an unbelievably clever move, The Voice will have Kelly Clarkson as a mentor partner for Blake Shelton. Not only does this get the attention(and viewership) of Idol-philes but it helps Blake tremendously with the non-country style singers that he chooses. It probably also helps that Kelly’s good friend Reba McIntyre did it last year.
Highlander
January 6th, 2012
8:30 am
Morning, gang!
Idol would be pretty stupy to not re-sign Ryan if he wants to stay. We’ve had ample evidence (via Carson Daly and Steve Jones) how tough it actually is to make the hosting gig work. And Ryan has been at it long enough now that he makes it look easy!
I agree with DanJ – it would be awfully hard for Idol to find a replacement.
DC
January 6th, 2012
8:31 am
Just when you thought Rodney was done talking about Steve Jones……
Rodney Ho
January 6th, 2012
8:32 am
@DC Yes. I have flogged the poor Brit beyond reason. Hey, at least this time I simply called him by his name…
Mercedes S.
January 6th, 2012
8:34 am
Morning!
Only one movie opens in Atlanta this weekend, and it must be bad since it wasn’t screened for critics. Hence, I won’t even mention it by name.
James
January 6th, 2012
8:37 am
Seacreast can go over-ennuciate on another show
Deirdre
January 6th, 2012
8:39 am
I will…The Devil Inside looks AWFUL!
Going to see Dragon Tattoo today.
Deirdre
January 6th, 2012
8:41 am
And DC…I don’t think there are enough words in the English language to truly describe just how awful the XF host( aka the anti-Seacrest, aka hostbot, aka a whole bunch of other names) was!
Rodney Ho
January 6th, 2012
8:45 am
I am oddly glad that Jones has at least one defender out there! Nobody is 100% despised!
Deirdre
January 6th, 2012
8:53 am
Except maybe Casey Anthony.
Harriett
January 6th, 2012
9:06 am
Good morning!
Yep. Casey Anthony, with her new blonde “do” and no mention whatsoever of grieving for that baby. Despised. And, when she comes out of hiding, there will be some crazy that will seek to avenge the child’s death. She is a marked woman.
D, of the three you mentioned I like Deeley best.
Sam-A
January 6th, 2012
9:08 am
Deirdre, please DON’T! Just when I’d gotten that evil entity out of my head, here she comes again – all blond and chatty! How many weeks will the talk over the evil one’s video be covered, over and over?
Mercedes S.
January 6th, 2012
9:09 am
…and Bernie Madoff.
Enjoy the “Dragon Tattoo”, D.,, and let us know what you think of the changed ending.
Deirdre
January 6th, 2012
9:09 am
I rest my case.
DanJ
January 6th, 2012
9:16 am
I think Ryan Seacrest is in an enviable position with his contract expiring. Talk about leverage! I’d be willing to bet Simon Cowell will be on the phone with him the minute the Idol final is over if Ryan hasn’t signed a new deal with Idol.
I could see Simon offering 25 million a year because Ryan is the Johnny Carson of hosts! The greatest complaint of XFactor was Steve Jones, signing Ryan would cure that. I do believe Simon when he said he wanted to make XFactor number 1. Signing Ryan would be a step in the right direction although I’d hate to see Ryan leave Idol. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months and the rumors that are sure to come out.
Deirdre
January 6th, 2012
9:17 am
What do Seacrest, Deeley and Bergeron have in common. Warmth. And the ability to think on their feet with 5 producers talking into their earpiece. What do Jones, Daley and Lachey have in common? They can read cue cards woodenly.
G
January 6th, 2012
9:22 am
As much as I DESPISE Wendy Williams………..she’s on point about Fantasia’s situation. Fantasia has as many fans as she has haters. But she has enough fans to make a difference. However, she’s on the verge of throwing it all away. I just hope she doesn’t lose her life in the process. Prayers (not criticism) for Fanasia.
Ryan……follow the money!!!!
kelly&carriefan
January 6th, 2012
9:30 am
Hi y’all,
Sam-A, I saw the Kelly interview. RIGHT ON, girlfriend!
As far as Ryan, he’s the Constant of Idol. And while I accepted the arrival of Steven and JLo, I can’t see the same for someone replacing Ryan. Mostly because Simon had completely checked out of Idol YEARS before finally leaving. So the fresh perspective was great. With Ryan, I don’t feel like he’s “bailed” yet.
Harriett, I’m with you on Cat Deeley. She’s a great host.
And well, in unrelated news, guess who’s gonna be watching The Voice?
PS. Wendy Williams: WORD!
JTesla
January 6th, 2012
9:33 am
DC = Steve Jones?
JTesla
January 6th, 2012
9:34 am
Kelly on The Voice = coup d’état
Rickster
January 6th, 2012
9:36 am
If you click on the link on the front page to “Latest Walk of Fame Recipients” and click through to picture 17 – it shows our own Ryan Seacrest getting his own star.
Somewhere… Dunkelman’s really beating himself up for one of the worst career decisions ever (along with MacLean Stevenson leaving M*A*S*H and Shelley Long leaving “Cheers.”)
RK
January 6th, 2012
9:47 am
If anything, Seacrest should get off E! Besides, if he wanted the Today Show, he couldn’t be doing that, too.
And maybe they’ll just move the Today Show to LA, ala AGT for Stern.
We need a Brit host for AI. Isn’t that what every other show has?
Robohost
January 6th, 2012
10:18 am
Tha cat-greez ah tha boice, tha guhlz, tha groops und tha ovah thuh-teese.
Dick Lark
January 6th, 2012
10:21 am
I agree with Deirdre. I used to think Idol would miss Simon, and I couldn’t wait for the X-Factor; but the X-Factor was a dud, and it made Idol look very very good. Turns out it’s Seacrest, not Simon, that makes Idol tick.
RK
January 6th, 2012
10:31 am
I think the “amateur” factor is what gives AI the edge; we all felt like XF was completely contrived, from the “mistake” Simon made in excluding the eventual winner to the overproduction to making up some crappy Glee-like group, not to mention that the final decisions in voting are left to the judges.
Harriett
January 6th, 2012
10:33 am
IMO, Simon was the engine that ran Idol the first two years, but he became a caricature. Seacrest’s personality and stage presence overrode came to override anyone else’s, and it became his show.
Harriett
January 6th, 2012
10:34 am
And, I am excusing myself from this wonderful company of folks and am taking off for the SC coast in about an hour. It is going to be about 70 tomorrow, so I may even get in a walk on the beach. Definitely going out to eat some great food!