14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since American Idol judge and, according to many, the one person who made the show so much fun to watch, Simon Cowell announced at the beginning of the year that he would not be returning for another season for he had other projects to oversee, speculation about who might replace him has been rife. As TMZ informs, one man considered for the job is rocker Bret Michaels of Poison.
Michaels has seen more than a fair share of press these past weeks, albeit it wasn’t necessarily for something he wanted to happen to him. The rocker was first rushed to the emergency room for an appendectomy, then suffered brain hemorrhage and then was discovered to have a hole in his heart and is supposed to undergo surgery for it later this year. Professionally speaking though, Michaels has had a great year, releasing new music, going on tour and gaining in popularity, which is why it’s likely that producers are considering him for Cowell’s job.
“Bret Michaels returned to the stage last night in Biloxi, MS where Bret dropped a huge piece of info on the crowd – he might be taking Simon Cowell's seat on American Idol. Right before Bret played the classic ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn,’ he told the crowd, ‘I can't say this is true yet, cause I don't know. Next year they asked me to possibly be the judge on American Idol.’ Very vague, but still ...” TMZ says of Michaels’ shock announcement.
“As for the rest of the show, one audience member told us, ‘I figured he'd be wobbly and sitting on a stool. But he was energetic, running around the stage with his guitar. It was like when I saw Poison years ago. It was an awesome show’.” TMZ says in reference to Michaels just being released from the hospital. In an update to the post, the e-zine further writes, “A source close to Bret tells TMZ Bret is ‘in the running to replace Simon’ but that nothing is close to being done yet. A rep for FOX says they are not commenting on any speculation regarding Simon's replacement.”
Though other names have been attached to Cowell's in recent months, including that of Sir Elton John, Paula Abdul and even Victoria Beckham as possible replacements for Mr. Nasty, this is the first time that a star steps forward to say they’ve been approached with an offer. Whether this is just a publicity stunt on Michaels’ part or the real deal, fans of AI should learn in a short while, as an official announcement is to be made soon.