day 274

mandy moore like never before

out of the public eye for a while now, singer/actress mandy moore is trying to remind people she exists and that she can be funny. in the latest offering from will ferrell's funnyordie.com, mandy is promoting a new product, red bull energy douche. check out the spot above, in which mandy goes about her day as a business woman (?) after "giving her vagina wings." the sketch doesn't quite make sense as mandy is just super energized like she would had she drank a regular red bull. but, either way, it's still funny.

more idol news

as the audition rounds for next season's american idol continue to be flooded with contestants, idol producers keep bringing in some big name stars to fill the void left behind by paula abdul's departure. victoria beckham has already filmed two spots for the show, in addition to previously announced guest judge katy perry. mary j blige is the next artist to be added to the revolving cast, taking the hot seat for the atlanta round of try outs. i guess the idea is put someone who might know the area well to judge the contestants? in a surprise twist, kelly clarkson - the first idol ever - will be going on the other side of things as a guest judge for one of the audition rounds. kelly hasn't exactly been the most thankful idol, fighting with her record label and dropping the management set up by the show for her, but is still the most successful pop star the show has produced (carrie underwood is the biggest artist to come out of idol). shania twain is coming out of hiding in switzerland to take on the role of judge, too. i wouldn't be surprised if her episode airs around the time she decides to release a new single or something; remind people who she is and drum up interest. and, finally, a former show mentor - jennifer lopez - is becoming a judge, too. the actress/singer has gotten back into the swing of things as a hollywood mogul and is currently wrapping her newest movie, the romcom the back-up plan. the most surprising guest judge? joe jonas. yep, the lead singer of the jonai is jumping on the idol bandwagon critique this year's crop of talent, too. what his credentials are are beyond me. however, none of these names are permanent replacements for paula. rumors have been floating around that both diana ross and natalie cole, both of whom are virtually retired, are gunning to take on the role of sympathetic mentor. however, the show probably won't take on either of them. instead, there are reportedly only two options the show runners see: get paula back or keep the revolving door. because paula's name didn't appear anywhere on the dancing with the stars' call sheet - or ugly betty (she was supposed to have a guest spot, which was instead given to 3rd rock vet kirsten johnson) and so you think you can dance - the producers supposedly feel like they can get abdul back. she's been such a much discussed (and wanted, for some unknown reason) property that idol sees her as the biggest coup they can get; too bad they already screwed that up. sources keep saying that paula wants "seacrest money" - which would be $45 million for a 3 year contract - for her work on the show. sadly, i don't think she'll be getting it. the previously demand of $12 million sounds a lot more reasonable. i could even see a figure somewhere around $20 million for abdul. if the show can't get paula back, they'll most likely be sticking with big name, one-off guest judges. in my opinion, that would be great. get an "expert" to judge what the week's genre is and then the contestants might actually get some real advice and constructive criticism. anything's better than "it's aight, dawg, just pitchy," right?