‘Idol’ Announces New Judges Jennifer Lopez And Steven Tyler, Tell Us Something We Don’t Know

Becky Bain | September 22, 2010 10:14 am

During a press conference that was live-streamed on the web, Fox officially announced that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would be joining Randy Jackson on the judges panel for Season 10 of American Idol. (At least we’re guessing that that’s what was announced, as their Ustream channel lacked any audio until halfway through Lopez’s welcome speech. Press conference FAIL, Fox.) More details below:

Tyler came out twirling, bowing, and screeching his well-known (and well-worn) Aerosmith howl. But like the true diva we know she is, a (what else?) jumpsuit-donning J-Lo rose from the floor amid smoke and backlighting when her name was called by Seacrest.

Oh jeez. Are we in for a whole season of kissing Lopez’s well-documented derriere by indulging in her self-serving melodramatic antics? Will she be summoned to the stage surrounded by dry ice at the beginning of each every episode? Or maybe she’ll switch it up by descending to the stage on top of a chandelier?

Tyler said he wants to bring some “rock to this rollercoaster,” but as for what Jenny—who reportedly settled for $12 million to join the show—expects to find in the talent pool, the dancer-singer-actress (yes, that’s the order in which she was described), said, “I’m looking for the next Michael Jackson!” As long as the next King of Pop is currently on MySpace, she won’t have a problem!

Now that Fox has finally let the cat out of the bag, the mystery remains of what kind of judges Steven Tyler or Jennifer Lopez will be or whether they’ll help the ratings for the show. Keep in mind, the public’s positive opinion of former judge Ellen DeGeneres waxed and waned throughout the course of Season 9, and despite all the hullabaloo of having the comedian come on the show for Simon’s final season, ratings weren’t exactly stellar.

At the very least, we hope these two personalities either clash or sparkle together and make some good TV. And let’s pray that the producers make sure the Idol stage isn’t too slippery when both artists take their debut walk during the live shows, as we know both J-Lo and Tyler have had fairly embarrassing on stage slips in the past.