Much to the dismay of many fans as well as Fox, Jennifer Lopez is packing it in as an Idol Judge. Rumblings of the singer/performer leaving the show had surfaced lately, but most attributed it to the salary as stars like Britney Spears signed on reality TV for big bucks. Sources throughout the industry thought it was all about more money, but it is now official, she’s out.
According to sources close to the star, there are just too many things going on in her life right now. They go on to say that J-Lo is regrettably leaving the show as she says it has been an incredible experience and she is forever grateful for the opportunity it gave her.
Other reports reveal that J-Lo took the “Idol” stint at a time when her career was dipping in popularity and her kids were little. American Idol shot Lopez back to the top and for that she should be grateful. Now she is planning to tour with her renewed fame and her children are older so she can branch out in her career.
J-Lo filled the vacancy of Paula Abdul and has been a rock on the show since her inception. Giving her heartfelt opinions and guidance to the contestants, showing her emotions and gracing the stage at times with her performances, the singing star has been a real asset to the show. It will be hard to find a suitable replacement that can fulfill what Jennifer added to the show.
J-Lo offered many fans and contestants the inspiration to keep going when things got tough. She rallied for votes for the singers and spoke words of encouragement as well as gentle constructive criticism when needed. The show is going to miss her a lot and so are the fans and contestants.
Could her exit be because of her tour this summer? Jennifer plans to enhance her career and popularity with her spectacular performances with Enrique Iglesias boasting a tour of twenty cities in the US and Latin America. Maybe the dates won’t coincide with the Idol schedule.
The singer/performer may have just been named number one top celebrity in Forbes magazine and her stint on American Idol may just be the one thing that helped her get there, but the brunette beauty says she is just too busy to keep doing the show, although she has loved her gig there.
Lopez is about to take a spiraling mega concert tour with Enrique Iglesias and plans to go world-wide in the fall. Sources say she will be on the road at least through the end of the year and the next round of American Idol will begin while she is touring overseas.
Jennifer wants to free up her schedule to do other things and take a little break in there to spend some time with her kids. According to Jennifer, it’s the same dilemma that any other working mom faces when trying to balance your schedule and your life with your kids. She goes on to say, you put them first and then you have all these other things that you have to do that require you to ensure your kids are ok during the process.
Reports say that Fox does not want to let Lopez go as the love her on the show. She has been a rock top judge for two seasons, signing only one year contracts for both. The first season J-Lo received $12 million with the second stint pitting her a nice increase to $20 million. The Fox loss will be a lot more than just the money. They will be hard pressed to find a replacement that brings so much to the show.
