Tyler wrapping up ‘Idol’ judgeship
Steven Tyler says he’s exiting “American Idol” to put rock ’n’ roll first.
Tyler said he’s leaving the hit show after two seasons to rededicate himself to Aerosmith, the band he fronts. The rock star said he loved every minute on the hit Fox singing contest but added, “it’s time to bring rock back.”
“After some long … hard … thoughts … I’ve decided it’s time for me to let go of my mistress ‘American Idol’ before she boils my rabbit,” Tyler said in a statement, making a joking reference to the 1987 Michael Douglas- Glenn Close thriller “Fatal Attraction.”
“I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back – but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I got two fists in the air and I’m kicking the door open with my band.”
The band is currently on a nationwide tour with Tyler and has an album due out in the fall.
The change in the judging panel comes as “Idol” comes off a season of ratings erosion. Its finale, which saw Phillip Phillips crowned as the new “American Idol,” drew 21.5 million viewers, the lowest in its 11-season history.
Stones mark 50th anniversary
– The Rolling Stones celebrated the 50th anniversary of their first gig at a bash in London on Thursday, and despite being well over retirement age, the Stones have no plans to quit.
“All of this has sort of brought us back together, and we’ll see what comes out of it,” said guitarist Keith Richards, who revealed that the Stones have begun rehearsing for new live shows that could come later this year.
Now in their late 60s and early 70s, the band members celebrated the anniversary by attending a retrospective photo exhibition at London’s Somerset House.
Mick Jagger, Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts mingled with a mixed crowd of rockers, writers and hangers-on – from Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall to playwright Tom Stoppard – at a launch party for the exhibition.
The show, which opens to the public Friday, charts the band’s career from their first official photo shoot in 1963 – young mop tops lined up against a row of red phone boxes – to their monster ’80s and ’90s stadium tours.
The birthday bunch
Actor Patrick Stewart is 72. Actor Robert Forster (“Banyon”) is 71. Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) is 70. Actor Harrison Ford is 70. Actor-comedian Cheech Marin is 66. Actor-director Cameron Crowe is 55. Comedian Tom Kenny (“Spongebob Squarepants”) is 50. Actor Michael Jace (“The Shield”) is 47. Singer Deborah Cox is 39. Drummer Will Champion of (Coldplay) is 34. Actor Steven R. McQueen (“The Vampire Diaries”) is 24.