Who can turn the world on with her song?
Well, we know Kelly Clarkson can. But would she judge the televised singing competition that made her its first winner and then a star? Rumor has it that the Burleson native could be in the running to grab a seat at the judges' table for American Idol.
FWIW, Idol alum Jennifer Hudson was just announced as the latest new judge for NBC's The Voice. So if Idol wanted to fight fire with fire, well, there's the catalyst.
ET chatted up former (once-and-forever? soon-to-be-again?) Idol host Ryan Seacrest outside the studios of his new gig co-hosting Live with Kelly Ripa, and he said that he had heard the same rumors and "she'd make a fantastic judge." Aside from that, he claimed to not even know what his role might be in the ABC reboot set to return next season.
(Sidebar: Now we know what Seacrest meant at the end of the series finale last April when he intoned an ominous, "Good night ... for now." Too soon? We can discuss that another time.)
For now, though, our very own Demi Lovato told Extra that it "would be cool" to be a judge and she "would be interested." One might remember her stint as a judge on The X Factor, a similarly themed (who am I kidding? the same) show. She was knowledgeable, (sometimes) empathetic and could point to her own success as a performer, something that should be on every prospective judge's resume.
I know everyone has their favorite judges' table, from originators Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson to the ending trio of Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban. But could there be an all-Texas judges' table? I submit for your consideration Clarkson, Lovato and pick your poison:
Selena Gomez
The real queen of all social media, Grand Prairie's own Selena Gomez has conquered TV, movies, music and The Weeknd. She recently took a break to focus on her health. A TV series would be the perfect way to introduce to some and present to others the sheer luminosity that she brings to just about any project, whether it be her Insta feed or a red carpet or a live performance or an empowering acceptance speech.
Todrick Hall
Arlington all-star phenom Todrick Hall made it to the semifinals of American Idol in 2010. He didn't prevail but, just as he had done to get there, he pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and now he's touring the country in his own stage show, Straight Outta Oz, after dazzling Broadway in some Kinky Boots, providing some zing to MTV with his own reality TV show, choreographing Beyonce's video for "Blow" and burning up YouTube with some dead-on covers.
Jessica and Ashlee Simpson
I swear by Jessica Simpson jeans. But before you could find her name in the inventory of department stores, she and her sister Ashlee Simpson were a one-two punch on the singing scene. The Richardson natives have settled down -- with children -- since reality TV show days (Jessica) and lip-sync shenanigans (Ashley), but no one can deny that when they were up, they were flying high. (And who wouldn't want the possibility of a drive-by from Ashlee's mother-in-law, one Ms. Diana Ross?!) Plus, with them at the table, there would never be a dull moment. Probably a lot of double takes, but none of them dull.
Kevin Jonas
Well, he lived here for a while. In an interview last year, Joe Jonas (now of DNCE, formerly of the Jonas Brothers) said that the family had moved from Westlake. Nevertheless, we persist: Once a Texan, always a Texan. Anyhoo, Kevin had a reality TV show with wife Dani called Married to Jonas on E (seasons one and two can be watched On Demand and on the website). After that, why not this? Consider him a bonus judge. See what I did there? You're welcome.
