by Brian Botdorf

Created on: February 21, 2010

Should Howard Stern replace Simon Cowell on American Idol? The opinion as to whether or not Howard stern would be a good replacement for Simon Cowell seems to be overwhelming no.  American Idol fans seem to think that Howard’s open and some times abrasive sense of humor will ruin the show. That Howard doesn’t have enough musical background to judge the show.  Being a long time Howard fan myself, I think Howard is the only person that could replace Simon Cowell because of his honesty and great sense of humor.  Lets face it, what musical background do you really need to judge whether or not someone can sing or not? Certainly, Ellen Degeneres doesn’t have any musical background and is an average comedian at best.  Even Simon Cowell himself has said that Howard would be a great replacement. 

The argument as to whether or not Howard can judge as well a Simon Cowell was made a moot point on Howard show in 2003 when the cast of American Idol showed up to promote the show.  Howard had a singer named “Tim” perform Hero from the Spiderman soundtrack for Simon, Randy and Paula.  After the performance, Simon and Randy remarked that first of all Tim was too old to be an American Idol.  Simon, Randy and Paula proceeded to judge his singing to be average at best and his showmanship to be weak.  Howard then admitted to the cast that “Tim” was really Josey  Scott from the group Saliva and that Hero was his song, which sold millions of copies.  When asked what he thought this proved about his judging for American Idol, Simon proceeded to say, “I guess I really don’t know what I’m talking about.”             

The fact is, you don’t have to be a musical genius to judge American Idol.  You do have to be a great entertainer and Howard has proven himself on radio, movies, TV and books.  Even the idea for American Idol was originally done on Howard’s radio show, when he would have music executives judge performers in a contest for a chance at a record label.  Howard Stern’s candor, comical genius and quick wit would be a refreshing addition to a show that, in my opinion, has lost its allure in the last few years.  Howard has always been on the “cutting edge” of entertainment.  Many of Howard’s innovations have been stolen by Hollywood.  Jay Leno’s “Jay walking”, “working for plugs” and “are you smarter than a fifth grader” are just a few original ideas of Howard’s. 

Whether you like Howard Stern or not, there is no doubt he would bring entertainment to the show.  He would bring a new and refreshing perspective to the show.  A voice for the people that have grown tired of the “corporate, bubble gum music” that American Idol has given us for the last few years.  Even Howard himself has admitted that he may have to  “tone it down” a bit for the audience of American Idol, but being a fan of Howard Stern for so long, I have come to realize that there is more to Howard then the exaggerated, media portrayal of being a sexist, foul mouth entertainer.  Behind it all, Howard is great comical genius.  

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