Paula Abdul: Leaving Idol for Dancing?

April 22, 2008

Audience members at Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars performance show were abuzz when, an hour into the show, Paula Abdul took a front-row seat in the ballroom.

The American Idol judge was accompanied by Simon Cowell’s girlfriend, Extra correspondent Terri Seymour.

Abdul, who gave R&B singer Mario and Karina Smirnoff’s steamy rumba a standing ovation, told PEOPLE, “I’m a huge fan. I absolutely love this show.”

Because Idol’s soundstage is right next door to Dancing’s, Abdul confesses that she “sneaks in on Tuesday nights.” “I always say I have to go to the bathroom and I sneak in and watch,” Abdul says. “This season it’s been Kristi Yamaguchi. She’s amazing. But so is Jason (Taylor), so is Marlee (Matlin). There are a lot of great ones this season.”

So would Abdul ever consider being a contestant rather than the judge?

“Listen, it would be a phenomenal experience for me to be a student and to learn a form of dance I’ve never been introduced to,” Abdul says. “I don’t know how to do ballroom dancing. I’ve been a professional choreographer, not a professional dancer.”

Dancing host Tom Bergeron has said that Abdul would love to do the show if her Idol schedule allowed. While it would be impossible January-May, Dancing’s next season revs up in the fall.

So if her Idol schedule freed up, who would be her dream partner?

“I guess I have my wish list, but I’m not going to say,” Abdul giggled.

One pro dancer is happy to step up to the plate – Tony Dovolani.

“I love Paula Abdul,” says Dovolani. “I’ve had a crush on her for years. I hope she’s on the show. I would give my left arm to dance with her.” –Monica Rizzo

Kelsey McNeal/ABC

Permalink | Comments (9)

Comments + Add a comment

anonymous April 22nd, 2008

boy i can hear the comments now about her being a ‘ringer’ and a ‘pro’ and what is she doing on there anyway when it’s supposed to be for amateurs. i really couldn’t read th blogs then. i love paula and think she would have it in the bag. nuff said.

horrible April 22nd, 2008

Oh please let it be true…. let her float away on a river of vodka ………

Meg April 22nd, 2008

What are you talking about for pros? Do you think that the boy band members of former seasons were amatuers? If so you really need to go back and look at *NSYNC!

Cdegz April 23rd, 2008

I think DWTS should specify as to what degree of knowledge the celebrities should have on dancing… Should the show be just for those WITHOUT any knowledge of dancing? Fairness is the basic “ingredient” for judging…if one has been a dance choreographer (like Paula Abdul) and joins the show…i guess fairness is thrown out of the equation….m just saying….

Lily April 23rd, 2008

Paula should not be a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. She has too much dance experience. She is a professional coreographer and dancer. Everyone knows that, and if people for some stupid reason thought that Mario Lopez had dance experience, then what would they think about Paula Abdul? Also, Paula is popular right now, she is an a-lister. This show is for celebrities who are not as popular anymore and who want to make a comback in their career. It would be a good idea for ABC to consider having a special maybe for at least one season to just have a-listers on the show, and whoever wins can donate their money that they won to charity.

Lily April 23rd, 2008

con’t… Then Paula can be on the show.

knightline April 23rd, 2008

You’ve got to be kidding!! Paula Abdul, a professional dancer, on Dancing With the Stars?? As
one of the PROS, maybe!! But no way could she be
on as a celeb!! It’s bad enough they let Kristi
Yamaguchi go on - a pro skater, whose artistic talents obviously would transfer into dance. She’s
obviously going to win this year - the only race is
for second place. If Paula were allowed in, it would be even worse. But as a pro dancer, she’d be
fine.

jan April 23rd, 2008

Who says DWTS is for amateurs? It’s Dancing With The Stars - not Dancing With The Stars That Can’t Dance. Granted, none have really been exposed to ballroom dance but some do have dance experience so what’s the big deal about Paula competing? Some get it and some don’t. I think it would be great if Paula gave it a shot.

tiny dancer April 23rd, 2008

Paula doesn’t have ballroom experience so she should be able to compete if she wants to. Look at who won or placed in the top three overall for almost all of the seasons - athletes! They have an edge because they train their minds and bodies for competition as their profession. The athletes are very focused and more of a threat than someone who might have danced before (and thinks they already have it ‘in the bag’ because they had dance exposure). Jerry Rice, Apollo, Layla Ali, Kristi, Helio, Emmitt, Jason… If athletes who are or were on top of their game can compete, so can people that have danced before - albeit not ballroom.