Trending Topics

Aretha Franklin Wants to Be ‘American Idol’ Judge

American Idol will have to replace two and possibly all of its judges before the coming season and the show already has one music legend raising her hand and asking to sit in a judge’s seat: Aretha Franklin. According to various reports, Aretha Franklin has shown interest in being an American Idol judge.

“She would love that gig,” said a source close to the Queen of Soul. “It pays millions of dollars and she could stay put [in one place] for a few months to do it.” The only foreseeable issue would be Franklin’s aversion to flying since judges have to travel across the country for the first round of auditions.

She allegedly sent an email to Idol producers asking about the position. No word from Fox or Franklin’s camp about whether or not the rumors were true. For now, no one has filled the seats of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, both of whom confirmed their departure from Idol last week. And there have been rumors that Randy Jackson also might be going, possibly to be replaced by Mariah Carey, whom Jackson manages. The show has seen a dip in ratings, something that could be attributed to the recent wave of singing competitions that have hit the airwaves, leading the audience to singing competition fatigue.

Though the Queen of Soul rarely gives interviews, she has shown a minimum of patience and a short temper on occasion. That may work well for Idol, since the show has suffered since the departure of the acerbic Simon Cowell, who was known for harshly and sometimes cruelly cutting down contestants who were talent challenged. Since Simon left one of the show’s criticisms has been that the judges are too nice, particularly Lopez, who has been known to break down in tears when she has to send someone home or negatively assess them. Franklin observers don’t think being overly nice would be a problem with Franklin.

Back to top