Paula Abdul Addresses if She Would Return to ‘American Idol’

Paula Abdul

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Paula Abdul was an original judge on American Idol alongside Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. She recently spoke to an Idol champ and addressed what it would take to bring her back to the show.

Abdul was a judge alongside Cowell and Jackson for the first eight seasons of the show before leaving and being replaced by Ellen DeGeneres.

Overall, American Idol has aired 18 seasons including the three seasons that aired after being rebooted by ABC with judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. The only cast member who has been with the show since the beginning is host Ryan Seacrest.

Now, Abdul is opening up about what it would take to get her to be a judge on Idol again.


Abdul Says This Would Bring Her Back to Idol

Abdul appeared on a recent segment of The Kelly Clarkson Show alongside Randy Jackson, and Clarkson talked to the duo about their time on American Idol and what it might take to bring them back to the show.

“I would only do it if Paula and Simon and Seacrest were still there,” Jackson said before adding that he would want Clarkson be a part of the show as well. “We all need to go back, KC, come on man.”

Abdul had just about the same set of things that would bring her back to the judge’s table on Idol. 

“If we all came back together that would be the only way to come back,” she said, adding that Cowell would be there to bug “the crap” out of her with his British accent.

Clarkson added, “Yeah, I don’t think you could recreate that kind of chemistry with anybody else.”

Jackson said that the whole first season was so “authentic” and Clarkson added to that.

“I think those first few seasons, no one really knew, so the show was just being what it was, you know what I mean? It wasn’t trying to be something else,” Jackson added to the discussion.

When asked if they would pick Seacrest or Cowell to quarantine with, neither Jackson nor Abdul wanted to answer the question.


Jackson and Abdul Have Known Each Other for Years

During the segment on the show, Jackson and Abdul said they’ve known each other since Abdul was 17 years old.

“I used to teach dance and cheerleading camps and where we were teaching a lot, I thought of an idea to give the winners, who would win in competitions, the concerts that were in town, and it just so happened to be Journey,” Abdul explained.

She added, “And I got all these cheerleaders who won, you know, prizes and awards, to come to the show and I took ’em backstage, and we were all in our cheer gear, and we met Randy as a bass player.”

Abdul also shared that Michael Bolton used to babysit her and sing her lullabies.

Jackson is currently the host of Name That Tune and is working on a new record with Journey as the bass player. Abdul is a panelist on The Masked Dancer. 

American Idol returns to ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Valentine’s Day, February 14.

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