It’s purely speculative at this moment, but how friggin’ awesome would it be if this actually came to fruition. According to Vulture.com, American Idol execs are contemplating replacing at least one, if not all the judges, with former contestants. The site claims that both Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson have been approached while Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert are also rumored to be in the running.

In my dream world, a Clarkson-Hudson-Lambert trifecta would be EVERYTHING. Not only do they all have successful post-Idol careers but each would bring something different to the table. Kelly would be the nurturing down-to-earth motherly one, while Jennifer would be Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj combined- divalicious and sassy. Need I say what Adam would bring- glamor and pure gayness. In addition, each had a different journey on the show. We have a winner, runner-up and someone who was eliminated way before their time.

FOX needs to make this happen. This could be the direction needed to save the show. Clearly high-priced talent hasn’t done the trick. The show’s massive ratings decline this season resulted in FOX losing the 2012-2013 TV season in the coveted 18-49 demo to CBS for the first time in eight years.

new American Idol rule change for Season 13 after the jump

At least there’s a silver lining. Fans will have an opportunity to see how the second season of Smash plays out. NBC promised to air all 17 episodes they’ve ordered. Bad news, the musical show is pretty much canceled. Though NBC didn’t officially axe the show, displacing it to a new night pretty much puts the nail in the coffin.

The ratings are so bad, the peacock network isn’t even putting it on Friday nights, but rather Saturday. If Fridays are where shows go to die, Saturdays is where they go to get cremated. Not even the addition of Jennifer Hudson and Sean Hayes or the removal of Debra Messing’s scarves could save the show. Katharine McPhee and company better brush up their auditioning skills.

Hopefully, the writers provide a satisfying ending to the handful of people still watching Smash. The relocation won’t take place until April 6 which allows it to take advantage of a strong lead-in from The Voice which premieres on March 25. The Broadway-themed show isn’t the only change to the schedule. Check out other tweaks NBC made below.

check out other changes in store for NBC after the jump

Since we’re in the Hollywood Week phase of American Idol Season 12, I thought it was a perfect time to catch up on some of our favorite alums. We’re one step closer to crowning this year’s winner. He/She or some of this season’s finalists might find themselves on this list in the coming years.

Forbes recently released their annual list ranking former American Idol contestants. Taking into account record sales, concert tours, acting jobs and other money-making gigs, the publication gives the low down on the earning power of your favorite Idol alums.

Last year’s top dog Carrie Underwood, loses her crown and drops to runner-up status. Making his debut on the list is Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery. He clocks in at No. 4. His addition bumps off Fantasia Barrino and Clay Aiken from the list. The two ranked No. 4 and No. 9 respectively on the previous rankings. Check out who’s the HBIC on the Idol campus now. I think you might have a good idea. Here’s a hint… they’re “stronger” than ever. I’ve also embedded each singer’s most recent music video below for those who aren’t familiar with everyone’s post-Idol career. Hope you enjoy the list.

check out the Forbes ranking after the jump

During the day, Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce sang their little hearts out at President Obama’s inauguration. When it came to party time at the Presidential Inaugural Ball, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys were two big names brought in for the celebration. Even with these two music superstars, Obama’s second inauguration was much more low-key than his first one. Back in 2009, there were a whopping 10 official balls as opposed to a much more manageable two this time around.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson performed an amazing cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” for the Presidential couple’s first dance. Side note: Michelle Obama wore a gorgeous Jason Wu gown during their adorable moment. When Barack danced with Michelle for his first inauguration, Beyonce serenaded them with her cover of Etta James’ classic, “At Last.” Later in the evening Alicia Keys reworked a few lyrics from her recent hit “Girl On Fire” to “Obama On Fire.” The 31-year-old singer who looked smashing in a red Michael Kors gown also incorporated Michelle’s name during the verses. Check out both performances below.

watch the performances after the jump

Can we just officially rename the show to Smash featuring Jennifer Hudson? With the amount of hoopla and attention regarding the addition of Hudson, it only makes sense. I admit, I’m giving the NBC musical show a second shot solely due to the Weight Watchers spokesperson. I even watched Dreamgirls again the other day to get ready for Smash’s Season 2 premiere on February 5.

During NBC’s TCA press tour, the cast and producers took to the stage to face the music. Many of the questions asked by television critics revolved around the changes in store for viewers now that Smash has a new showrunner. Josh Safran (Gossip Girl) promised more music and less scarves. LOL. Regarding the latter, Debra Messing’s wardrobe was the subject of a lot of Twitter hate.

“I think it’s (still) ‘Smash’: I don’t think it’s changed that much. Stuff from last year that you loved is still there, and maybe stuff people thought went off on tangents we’ve looked at (and) sort of tried to find a way to put back together. – Safran

Messing’s neckwear might be gone and so are four original characters including the much reviled Ellis (Jamie Cepero), but he may not be gone forever. On the second episode of Season 2, Ellis is heard on a phone call. Does that mean, we might see the scheming character pop up in person later in the season? Fingers crossed, he does and a spotlight lands on that curly haired head of his ;) Check out the newest trailer of Smash below. There’s even more J-Hud fabulousness than before.

check out the new trailer after the jump

If the Smash thing doesn’t work out for the ladies, someone needs to cast this lovely trio for a musical incarnation of Charlie’s Angels. Can’t you just picture them parading around in glittery dresses belting out tunes while solving Broadway-related crimes? I can ;) Can’t be worse than ABC’s failed reboot of the iconic 70s series last year.

Entertainment Weekly tapped Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Hudson for their Winter Television Preview issue. Say what you will about American Idol being irrelevant, but the show does discover and create stars. Pretty amazing that two alums were picked to grace the cover instead of a long list of other stars including Oscar and Emmy winners. Check out more photos of each of the ladies below.

check out more photos after the jump

For the third straight year in a row, Jennifer Hudson appears in a Weight Watchers commercial. This time she’s joined by Jessica Simpson to entice overweight people to use the brand’s system to keep their New Years resolutions. Both women have had great success with the company with Hudson reportedly losing 80 lbs and Simpson with about 50 lbs. Speaking of the latter, now that she’s pregnant she’s off the program, according to Weight Watchers.

In the new clip, both ladies share their respective weight loss journeys. What they don’t share is a hug or any sort of physical contact (not including the picture above). Jennifer and Jessica strut their way to each other but when they meet, a sort of awkward exchange of smiles transpires. You’d think a high-five at the very least would take place. Check out the clip below.

watch the commercial after the jump

Before I begin, I just wanted to preface this post by saying it’s bit self-indulgent. That said, the aim of our Behind The Cast posts are to give you a better insight to who we are. True? Anyhoo, I just wanted to quickly chat about one of our favorite pastimes while getting ready for a night out on the town.

Usually, Brian and my home is the meeting place before we head out. Most of our friends live nearby and we have a bigger place so it makes sense. Plus we have all the board games, karaoke, a hot tub, booze and most importantly an Apple TV. Combined with the brilliant VEVO app, the Apple TV is my favorite thing in the world. Friends come over all the time and play me their favorite new tracks by simply logging on to our Wi-Fi and playing it on our sound system. With the VEVO app, we can play all our current music video obsessions and our favorite oldies which brings me to this post.

Nothing gets a roomful of homos screaming more than playing music videos from our favorite DIVAS. Yes, we’re a gay cliche. However, we also listen to folk music, old school grunge, rock and hip-hop but there’s something about the ladies that gets us all fired up. I decided to share some of the music videos that seem to get the most airplay at our house while enjoying cocktails. I purposefully left out clips from 2012 since that would make this post extremely long. Without further delay, check out a few oldies and relatively-recent clips we love watching while a tad intoxicated.

check out our favorites after the jump