day 2.281

paula abdul dances back (to tv)

paula abdul is headed back to tv. the former american idol judge signed on to produce, judge and play mentor on got to dance. the show, which will air on cbs, is adapted from a british series of the same name. the competition series looks to be a combination of america's got talent and american idol, with judges choosing finalists from auditions that take place in front of a live audience. it seems like the answer to so you think you can dance? - it's pretty much everything that show isn't. here's a preview of the british series.

the show will most likely air in midseason (as in january) and could very well be pitted against american idol, which will be in its first season without mainstay simon cowell. i just don't know if it will work. yes, america has fallen in love with the competition series. but, have they fallen in love with dancing? i think that remains to be seen. dancing with the stars is big because of the stars. and so you think you can dance? is successful because it's a summer series and on fox, home to the king-of-kings, american idol. the announcement of paula joining got to dance comes after months of speculation as to what she would do after exiting the idol judging table last year. abc was the first network to enter talks with her, but failed to land her as one of their dancing stars or as the host for the net's relaunch of star search (fun fact: original star search host arsenio hall and abdul used to date). there's no word on whether or not abdul headlining got to dance will impede the pint-sized spitfire (yeah, i went there) from joining simon cowell as a mentor on his new talent competition the x factor. either way, abdul and cowell are set to reunite in the near future. rumor has it abdul will return to the idol stage as part of a special sign-off for mr. cowell.

day 249

katie holmes underwhelms

last night marked fox's so you think you can dance's 100th episode. while the show was much hyped - and featured guests like ellen degeneres - it pulled in relatively average ratings and pissed off a lot of people by having katie holmes do a "homage" to judy garland and broadway. mrs. tom cruise sang and danced to the garland standard "come on get happy," but not all that well. the singing is a bit nasally and computer enhanced (though we don't have anything to compare holmes' style to because she's never sang before pubically) and it looks like katie is just going through the motions of dancing. for an "actress," katie isn't very good at taking on the character of a broadway star. while katie was mainly doing the performance to bring attention to her dizzy feet foundation, which provides kids with the opportunity to become involved with the arts through music and dance, a better idea may have been to include fellow foundation founders as carrie ann inaba in the performance. or get a "real" singer. plus, what person who is watching sytycd is completely familiar with the musical era of judy garland? most people just know her from the wizard of oz. a modern take on the song may have been better received. the fact that katie couldn't even be bothered to do the number in front of a live audience makes this seem even more like a publicity stunt than it is. had she gone on the sytycd stage and performed alongside the competitors, the audience would have gone crazy. and, come on, the male performers really do all the work in the video above. better luck next time, katie.

day 222

sytycd pulls out all the stops

with this season including their 100th episode, so you think you can dance isn't cutting any corners. the idol-cousin dance competition has already wrangled itself a couple celebs for season-ending dance numbers - including katie holmes, who will be paying tribute to judy garland and broadway in her routine - and may have just nabbed another: paula abdul. the american idol judge won't be jumping ship forever, but is in negotiations to do a michael jackson-themed dance tribute on the show. each season, a paula rumor has hit the internets about her involvement with the dancing show; abdul got her start as a laker girl and was discovered by the jackson family in the 80s, working mostly with janet (see the video above to watch teacher v student) during the peak of her career. my question is what will become of jackson's big "comeback" concert series in england that was scheduled for just a few weeks from now? i can see some celebs getting together to do a series of tribute concerts, but how will they fill the 50 shows? that remains to be seen.