GUEST Judges

American Idol: Season 3 Forum

So far ...

Barry Manilow

Brian Setzer

and

"talking to":

Elton John

Paul McCartney

Are the top two for sure?

I like Barry! (dont make fun you guys!!!) I like him, cant help it!

That would be great to get McCartney or Elton....that would also be nerve wracking to have to sing in front of two of the greatest!

I still wish they would have gotten Billy Joel on there last year...I wish they would try him again.

I would love to see someone like Reba McEntire on there. I truly believe that they should have a country night... and she's got a HUGE array of songs to be chosen from. I want to see these competitors singing all different styles of music.

Mystic, I wound never laugh at you. My mom was a big Manilow fan, so I know most of the songs.

Kris I love Reba. Let Simon get smart with her. She is so spunky and honest.

I would love to see Elton on there. He would be awesome.

My pick for a judge would be Stevie Wonder. I know, he can't see how they perform, but I would love to hear them sing Stevie.

what about michael jackson. it could be part of his community service work release program.

i think stevie wonder would make an excellent choice. i wouldn't mind barry manilow. but i could easily do without elton or paul.

why don't they change it up a little and bring in willie nelson.
"you were always on my mind..."

Larke! One of the contestants is 16! No MJ-sorry could not resist.

Willie would be good. Diane Warren was good because she has written so many wonderful songs.

They bring MJ on and I WILL stop watching AI. That would disgust me, to no end.

Yeah, Reba would be great... Stevie too.

Stevie would be great! Good choice Fuscia!

The fact that he can only hear them sing would be excellent because he would be talking ONLY about their voice!

Most of all...I want to see guest judges that would be honest....last year..all we got were "paula" type judges....and I think its important that if you are going to compete in a contest like this that people should be honest with their opinions....If someone sucks, I expect them to say that...maybe not so harsh but in so many words they should tell them what to do to improve...

MJ.....? OMG NO!!! ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!

Oh...and I forgot...if these people are going to choose Barry 's songs...I hope they all dont pick "I Write the Songs"...I want to at least hear one of them "New York City Rhythm."

mystic, I think Barry Manilow and Brian Setzer are for sure. Heard it on one of those TV shows ... ET or Access Hollywood.

Barry Manilow is an excellent choice, IMO. Brian Setzer? Ho, hum.

Stevie Wonder would be a great one. Reba, too!

Paul McCartney would be awesome but I wonder if he'd do it. Same for Elton John. Those guys are still very active performers with heavy schedules. It might be hard to arrange a time fit. But, if they could get McCartney............WOW !

Having guest judges with a lot of A&R experience, not just performing experience, makes a lot of sense to me. How about Smokey Robinson?

On another thread..old scout mentioned someone who I would LOVE to see as a guest judge...

Harry Connick Jr. Now there's an entertainer!

OH YES..... Harry Connick Jr, I would LOVE to see him on the show!!!

Harry would be awesome! Smokey too.

And here's one that you mentioned on another thread, Fuscia -- Billy Joel! He would make a terrific Guest Judge on American Idol, don't you think?

Old Scout

Yes he would Old Scout. I just want him to show up. I really hope that they get Elton John. I think he would be very truthful with the singers.

Elton would certainly be a good one for that show. He's got the credibility and the personality for it.

Just, please God, no more like Neil Sedaka. He was really creepin' me out when he was on the show.

Or, alternatively, they could create a spinoff of AI.........call it American Rejects...........and have only acts like SCATgirl and Huang She Bang on there........and a panel of weirdo judges to match............Neil Sedaka could be the Simon of that judging panel.........James Brown could be the Randy..........who is bizarre enough to be the Paula character? Bjork?

With Stevie, we would have a night of great songs.

Rumors abound on the Internet that Britney Spears will guest judge. She has a horrible voice, but she does perform.

I have a fun idea !

What if they had the Top 3 from last year Ruben, Kim and Clay "guest judge" ?

They could also have the contestants choose and perform songs sung by any of the 3 ... either on AI or recorded !

I think if they need a back-up judge they might consider inviting Kelly Clarkson.

All would be fun.

Hey I want honesty from the judges. Wasn't Lionel Ritchie very honest with the kids last year?

Yes, Lionel was pretty honest with the kids...

That's the ONE thing about Paula Abdul that I just can't stand.
She will NOT critique them with ANY harsh words.
The majority of them NEED to hear these things... because it's the ONLY thing that will get through. If you 'butter' them up, you aren't doing them ANY good, down the road.

Well Paula was not the best singer herself, maybe that is part of it.

I was thinking they could have Ruben do the Randy, Kim do the Paula and Clay do the Simon ... can you imagine ?

I don't remember Lionel Ritchie's comments either.

Oh, that would be funny... now have the regular judges on

um...I think Clay would be too nice to be Simon haha.

I think that would be a completely fun show to watch!!

And, if worse came to worse, and the show didn't want to do such a thing, someone like Saturday Night Live, could do a skit on it, and have them as the judges!! What do you think?

There is a article about Simon in TVGuide (hardcopy 2/21-27) where he mentions guest judges.

He says he initially hated the idea of guest judges alongside him Randy and Paula.

"It undermined our credibility, and threw off our chemistry" he says. But it's not his call.

He says AI is curently in negotiations with Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder to guest judge. But Simon says his "gut feeling" is McCartney won't show up.

No mention of Barry Manilow this time, so that could mean negotiations are over and Manilow's either in or out.

In I hope !

Oh man do I want Stevie to Guest Judge. He would would only care about the music, and I love his songs.

Imagine a whole night of Stevie music. That would be so great.

a whole night of stevie wonder tunes would certainly be one of the best AI episodes ever.

I just wonder if Stevie might be too nice to give constructive coaching style critiques.

Ah ... who cares ! We want Stevie !

Depending on the genre' or theme night's they choose ... how about Carole King ?

Bio:
http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/arti...rtistID=1014381

Not scrolling back through this thread... so I don't know if it's already been said.

The April 20th show... Barry Manilow is going to be the guest judge. His songs will be performed.

Yes, that was announced on the radio this morning. Glad that you're happy.
Still haven't heard any other confirmed names yet.


Maybe they try not to release the names of guest judges too early, so that the competitors don't go picking out songs and practicing them, over and over before the show. They want them to focus one week at a time, would be my guess.

I think that Sherry and I should be on there as guest judges.
We wouldn't pull any punches... but we wouldn't be cruel.

I guess that I missed the question... but I just rolled back and read it.

Hmmmm... I think that Madonna could offer up a lot of good advice and wisdom.
That woman came from the very bottom, all on her own, and built an empire.
I would love to see her on there as a guest judge... and hear her songs.


Hey... what do you mean you could see me asking a contestant if they got their outfit from the garbage. I would ASK them... I would just IMPLY it It's all about how you present it!

I just heard on the radio that Elton John will be a guest judge!!

I think that Paul McCartney is also a go! I'm just waiting for an official announcement on Elton and Paul. But, I guess that Randy Jackson was at a party on Sunday (for the Oscars) and he said that they were both going to be guest judges. So, let's wait and see!!!!

Are we absolutely sure about Barry Manilow being a guest judge? The reason I ask is because when Simon was a guest on Jay Leno a few weeks ago and he and Jay were talking about this AI season, Simon said they were "doing a Barry Manilow NIGHT" and he actually offered the guest judge position to Jay Leno.

Just thought I'd toss that into the mix here..........

Now Jay Leno would be great to have. He would at least be funny and not cruel.

Not a guest judge, but I didn't know where else to put this and it seems silly to start a thread.

It has been announced that Clay Aiken will make a Guest Appearance on the March 17, results show.

My guess is he'll probably sing "Solitaire" -- on his new CD single.

I haven't seen a lot of comments about Barry Manilow as guest judge.

I thought he did a pretty good job of interjecting some kindness.
Although I don't know if his comments ( on the show ) were constructive, I think he really helped them when he worked with them.

What a contrast from Quentin Tarantino.