Kanye West 'Auditions' to Be the Next American Idol
(photos: Michael Becker/Fox)
Well, it looks like Kanye West has a backup plan if his 2020 bid to be America’s president doesn’t work out. He can always compete to be the next American Idol in 2016.
Kanye was in San Francisco this weekend to appear at current president Barack Obama’s Democratic National Committee fundraiser, Saturday at the Warfield Theatre – and for reasons still unclear, he then swung by the last-ever American Idol auditions, which took place in San Francisco the following day. There, Kanye “auditioned” with his 2005 hit “Gold Digger,” a song that happens to namecheck Idol judge Jennifer Lopez. A Fox rep told Yahoo Music’s Reality Rocks that his appearance was “a complete surprise.”
Tweets and Instagrams posted by Idol host/Keeping Up With the Kardashians executive producer Ryan Seacrest and Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian indicate that Kanye made it “through to Hollywood.” But if this audition was the real deal, it’s doubtful that Yeezus would ever survive Hollywood Week. Longtime viewers may recall his polarizing, vocoder-dependent, not exactly Kris Allen-esque 2009 Idol performance of “Heartless.” While ‘Ye did exhibit plenty of A-list star quality that night – hopping up on the judges’ table, dropping dramatically to his knees, wearing some really cool sunglasses, and being generally more exciting than some contestants – vocally, he wasn’t exactly golden-ticket material.
Interestingly, back in 2013 Us Weekly reported that Kanye had turned down an offer to be an Idol judge because he “didn’t want to go that mainstream” and feared taking the job would damage his credibility.
American Idol returns to Fox for its 15th and final season this January.
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