Abdul won't be intimidated
Alex Strachan, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Paula Abdul, ladies and gentlemen! She's on the phone from Los Angeles at first light after a long, hard night of judging the likes of Luke Menard and Danny Noriega -- VotefortheWorst.com's pick-of-the-year as, well, the worst -- and her voice is a whisper.
"I hurt my vocal chords," she says, but she isn't expecting any sympathy from You Know Who. She isn't getting any, either.
"Simon says I like to talk," Abdul says, and you can guess the rest.

Ah, yes, Simon.
The man of whom Abdul once said, "I welcome him like I welcome cold sores. He's from England, he's angry and he's got Mad Power Disease."
Simon, Abdul says, would not want to audition in front of Simon.
The two clashed on American Idol last week, when Abdul pointedly noted that Cowell has never performed in front of a live audience, so he hasn't a clue about the pressure involved.
Simon sniffed in characteristic disdain and suggested in not so many words that pressure is something firefighters experience when they rush into a burning building. Singing in front of a live crowd and trying to keep it together? Not so much. That's just performing on American Idol.

"He just doesn't understand how vulnerable you feel out there," Abdul says, finding her pipes again.
No matter what Cowell says, she's not about to be intimidated.
"I've always spoken my own mind," she says. "This has been a weird season. Simon is just not hearing what Randy and I are hearing. We all come from different perspectives and backgrounds. Mine is that of a performer and that of an artist. And when you get harsh criticism, you just have to close your eyes and try to handle it with dignity and some grace. Simon will say, `Oh, bronchitis schmontitis, they're so lucky to be there, it's not hard.' I wonder how he can say that so matter-of-factly. It's the worst feeling in the world to go out there and (bomb)."

Abdul agreed with Randy Jackson on 23 out of 24 calls during last week's Top 24 performance shows.
Abdul isn't keeping count, though.
"It's just an opinion," she says heatedly. "There's no wrong and no right. I'm not keeping score. The only thing I will say is that I'm only the only one who knows something about what they're feeling."
The contestants this season have been more comfortable talking back to the judges when they hear something they don't like.
"I love it when somebody says something back and makes Simon laugh. That's the best part -- making Simon laugh, and admit that, just maybe, he was wrong. I just hope and pray they don't let any of the criticism get the best of them."
Asked who would upset her, if they were voted out next, Abdul is momentarily thrown for a loop.
"It would crush me," she says finally, "but there's no way it's going to happen, if David Archuleta or Jason Castro was the next to go. And Michael Johns. I thought Amanda Overmeyer's performance was awesome. Carly Smithson -- I would be crushed."
Ah, yes, Carly Smithson.

VotefortheWorst.com -- fast becoming the go-to Web site for Idol detractors, the Smoking Gun of the online Idol community -- broke the story that Smithson had a million-dollar record contract in a previous life, with MCA Records, under her maiden name Carly Hennessy. Isn't American Idol supposed to be about finding raw, undiscovered talent. Can you spell S-C-A-N-D-A-L?

"It doesn't matter at all," Abdul says. "Nobody knows who Carly Smithson was prior to appearing on American Idol. We've been following the same rules since season one."
Kelly Clarkson had a prior recording deal that flopped, Abdul notes, and nobody groused about that at the time.
"I went back and looked at some of the other people (who won), and everyone had some kind of deal. There's probably a dozen or so that had deals."

Idol's rule is that a recording contract can't be in effect at the time of the initial audition, or while Idol is in production. "The same rules always apply," Abdul says. "This season is no different."
Abdul, Janet Jackson's choreographer during Jackson's Control days in the mid-1980s, is finally finding the time to sit back and reflect on the difference between being a performer today -- she has a new video out, don't you know -- and a performer back in the day.

Abdul survived personal and professional struggles in the 1990s to win a fresh start on American Idol and, now, signs of a potential musical comeback. Her single, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow", is her first in 12 years. Her last single, in 1996, was called ironically enough, "Ain't Never Gonna Give Up."
"It's a whole different feeling right now," Abdul says. "It's a very pleasant, very special time for me. It's been a while since I've been out there, and coming back is something very special. I'm in a good place."
Even with Cowell there to remind her what she's doing wrong.
American Idol airs three nights a week on CTV and Fox. Check local listings for the times.