Fox Cancels “The X Factor”

Even “The X Factor” doesn’t have the X factor. Or maybe now it is the ex-factor. (See what I did there?) Late Friday evening, Fox announced that the struggling reality competition series will not return for a fourth season.

“American Idol” remains Fox’s sole singing competition. With the news, Simon Cowell, the ex-Idol judge who brought the UK series to America, released a statement.

“I’ve had a fantastic time over the last 12 years, both on The X Factor and American Idol. And apart from being lucky enough to find some amazing talent on the shows, I have always had an incredible welcome from the American public (most of the time!). Last year, for a number of reasons, I had to make a decision to return to the U.K. version of ‘The X Factor’ in 2014. So for now, I’m back to the U.K. and I want to thank FOX for being an incredible partner and I also want to thank everybody who has supported my shows. America, I’ll see you soon!”

Is it just me or is Cowell trying to make it sound as if it’s because he chose to return to the UK and not because Fox chose to cancel the show? The statement from Kevin Reilly, Fox pres, seems to sing a tune along those lines. “To all of us at FOX, Simon is more than one of the most prolific TV personalities of our time –he’s part of our family. A consummate showman and partner, there’s no one more passionate or creative than Simon, and we feel so fortunate to have enjoyed such a wonderful, collaborative relationship with him over the past 12 years. Unfortunately, there is no X FACTOR USA without Simon Cowell, but we understand and support his decision to focus on the international formats and on the next phase of his personal life. We wish him the very best, and it’s our sincere hope that we work together again soon.”

Will you miss the singing competition? Sound off below!

And The Best Of 2011 Are …

Other sites have been making lists based on their preference, telling you who they believe was the best of 2011. We here at the Yak like to do it another way … put you in command. You nominated, you voted, and now it’s time to reveal who YOU chose as the Best of 2011. As 2011 comes to a close in just a few days, we figured it’s time to take you down memory lane as we reminisce about what made these people, TV shows, songs, albums, and celebrities the best (or in some cases the worst) of 2011. There were some EXTREMELY tight races this year, but fans came out in full force to make sure their favorites got to the top. No more yakking, let’s just get right to it. Click on a pic below to see what they won – or just click on the first pic and scroll through to see who and what made YOUR list of favorites in television, music, movies and more in 2011.

 

[nggallery id=30]

Song of the Year:

Favorite Live Performance of the Year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk

Most Viral Video of the Year:

The Yak Takes Out The Trash! June 3rd, 2011

Hello everyone, it’s time for the Yak to take out the trash! Every week we’ll have all those little bits and pieces of buzz that we felt needed to be shared and dumped at the same time. Recycled, if you will. But either way, we’re here to dish the dirt before it heads off to the landfill.

Well, well, well, could the “twilight” be fading just a bit for one of the hit movie series’ stars? Taylor Lautner, set to appear in the movie “Abduction” in September (actor/producer), has been dropped by his publicist Robin Baum, of Slate PR. After just three months, Baum, who also reps Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig, abruptly dropped Lautner. Baum hasn’t commented on reasons, and Lautner’s management couldn’t be reached for comment but word on the street is that Lautner’s father, Daniel Lautner, isn’t exactly an easy guy to work with. taylordaniellautnerJust a tip for you, Daddy Lautner……go google Michael Lohan and see how far being an overbearing stage father gets you.

This past Wednesday, Simon Cowell, executive producer of hit series Britan’s Got Talent and X-Factor, angrily denied allegations that the winners of said series had been picked from the very start. simoncowellOr rather, Syco, Cowell’s production company, dismissed the allegations as being “100% totally false”. Reps for the company told the Hollywood Reporter that they were taking legal action against a website for posting a memo purportedly from a Sony Music exec which said they had insider knowledge of the “fix”. One of the allegations made was that Ronan Parke, the 12 year old favored to win Saturday’s final of Britain’s Got Talent, has been under contract by Syco and groomed for the past two years for the show. ronanparkeParke, who is getting Justin Bieber comparisons, was also according to this memo, told to play up his youthful looks and to be more effeminate. (Sorry, but what 12 year old wouldn’t have youthful looks?). This memo went on to say that Parke had been picked to win before auditions for the 2011 series had even begun. Producers of the show emphatically state that the blog, which has been widely spread on the web, is completely false. Well..hmmm..there’s always conspiracy theories when it comes to shows like this and while I’d like to think they’re false, it’s also been apparent on many seasons of various shows such as American Idol, etc. that the judges do have their favorites and at points have not been so subtle in their urging of fans to vote for them. Plus, if you read the fine print at the end of shows such as Idol, and even Project Runway, it does state that the producers of the show do have a final say in the results themselves. I’m not sure what to think about this honestly.

Who wants to see J-Lo in the buff? Well,  her first husband, Ojani Noa, wants to help you. ojani-noa-and-jennifer-lopezApparently he has been shopping around one of the all too common celebrity sex tapes of himself and Mrs. Marc Anthony. He’s gotten bids too, from major porn companies, of the alleged “honeymoon sex tape”. Anyone remember “A Night in Paris?”. Starting bids of the hundreds of thousands of dollars are expected to skyrocket into the millions now that several top-tier porn companies have entered the bidding war. J-Lo has apparently fought for years to keep this tape under wraps, as the footage itself comes from the 1997 honeymoon (before she broke out into total fame) and apparently has 27 hours of footage, with 15-20 minutes of total nudity in it. What I find funny is that all these porn companies are salivating to get their hands on the footage, yet Noa’s producing partner, Claudia Vazquez, states that it’s not technically a “sex tape” either. The marriage was short-lived, as they divorced after a year, and for several years after that they were on good terms. It’s because of that amicability that Noa got many possessions, including the tapes themselves (seriously J-Lo?).

Eventually Noa and Lopez had a falling out, over her firing of him from her restaurant and later over a “tell-all” and biopic that Noa and Vazquez were trying to produce. During the research for this biopic, they discovered this footage. Lopez managed to block the tell-all book in 2006, however, last week a Los Angeles judge cleared the tapes for release. So from the looks of it, we’ll get a view of Lopez we have never seen before….I wonder if it’ll be on the floor, London to Ibiza. What do you think?

Hey, join us in our forums and let’s chat, about this and everything else we have there! Look up, you’ll see the link to it there!

American Idol: Top 10 Best Auditions

American Idol hits it’s 10th season on the airwaves tomorrow night with it’s much anticipated winter premiere (8EST/7CST on Fox). Lots has changed with the show following Simon Cowell’s departure. Ellen Degeneres left the judge’s table, soon followed by Kara DioGuardi. Randy Jackson is the only original judge left and welcomed Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to the panel. A few more changes will be made to the show’s format this season, which you can read all about HERE! As we prepare to begin a new season with the audition stage, we thought it’d be fun to take a look back at some of the best Idol auditions of the past. We’ve narrowed it down to our Top 10, but we know you’ll have a different list. So check ours out and be sure to comment below and share your very own Top 10 list here in our forums! Didn’t like ours? Well let us know below! Here we go…

#10. Clay Aiken, “Always and Forever”

Love him or hate him, Clay was the original Idol surprise, if you will. Walking in, not looking like a pop star, only to surprise the judges and America with his powerful and soothing voice, Clay gave them reason to believe he had what it takes to follow Clarkson and become the next American Idol. And he got pretty close…Until he released “Invisible” and I think people’s opinion on Clay started to change.