Word is out that Howard Stern—who was never, ever, not in a million years going to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol—is not going to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol. You know who else is never, ever, not in a million years going to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol? Perez Hilton, but it gets attention when someone speculates about it, so people are going to speculate about it.
As for veteran producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews &c.)—well, I don’t know he has a serious shot either. But he really, really, really wants to, and he’s launched his campaign on YouTube:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8QwvPAFJ6U]
I have to wonder if Fox isn’t missing an opportunity here. Should they replace Simon Cowell through a humiliation-style reality show? Call it American Judge.