LOS ANGELES — A year after leaving “American Idol,” Paula Abdul is returning to the reality competition genre as the lead expert on the upcoming CBS reality competition “Live to Dance.”
The show is slated to air Wednesdays beginning Jan. 5 (with a Jan. 4
premiere), which may pit the 48-year-old entertainer against “Idol,” if
that show reboots in January. But Abdul isn’t afraid of failure.
“It’s OK to fall on your butt, I’ve made a career out of it,” Abdul said. “It’s all about taking chances.”
Her latest “chance” brought her to CenterStaging studios in Burbank, where hopefuls lined up Thursday for auditions.
Turning contestants away is nothing new to Abdul, an “Idol” judge from the show’s start in 2002 until the end of Season 8.
Her exit was followed by that of Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi. Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler join Randy Jackson on the show’s 10th season.
While Abdul touted the new additions as “seasoned
entertainers,” she also noted, “It’s really difficult to try to
duplicate lightning in a bottle with the chemistry that just worked with
Randy, Simon and myself,” she said. “We’re the original family. I’m
glad Randy is there at the helm … but it’s not the same.”
Asked whether she might reunite with Cowell on his
U.S. version of “The X-Factor” in 2011, Abdul was coy: “My concentration
is solely on this show … and my Chihuahuas. It’s extremely difficult
to think about anything other than ‘Live to Dance’ … at this moment.”
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