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Simon Cowell says he’s not ready to settle down and have kids – but might get himself a pet squirrel.

The American Idol judge met girlfriend Mezhgan Hussainy, a celebrity make-up artist, while working on the reality competition.

The pair have been photographed together several times, and both seem very cosy in the relationship.

But when Cowell was asked – awkwardly – by former girlfriend and US TV presenter Terri Seymour if he is ready to settle down in his new relationship after leaving American Idol, the acid-tongued judge kept mum.

He said: “I’m thinking about getting a pet. A squirrel… ha ha ha ha!”

With an album completed and ready to turn in, Johns had the rare freedom to shop it around, and when Downtown Records, home to Gnarls Barkley, Cold War Kids and Santigold, showed interest in a licensing deal, he jumped at the opportunity to finally control his own fate. “I think we’re in the most exciting period of music ever, because there’s so many ways to do it,” he says. And like most of his plans thus far, Johns is thinking big for his future. “The live show is going to be great,” he says excitedly. “I might even take it old school with different bands in different towns — almost like what Chuck Berry and all those guys used to do.”

Tune in to see Michael Johns on The Ellen DeGeneres Show next Monday, May 25th. Check your local listings for times.

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Taylor Hicks is currently touring with Grease, performing select solo dates and gearing up to release his album, The Distance, on March 10th.  For more information please visits TaylorHicks.com.

The 46-year old Abdul said she has already warned Idol producers about Goodspeed being a stalker but they still allowed her to audition for the show. Abdul’s tirade is understandable though considering that this was not the first time that Goodspeed has been found near her property. The girl was also found by the police in the same spot where she committed suicide a few months ago.

It seems that Abdul is in hot water not only for blaming the show producers but for telling people that the producers found Goodspeed’s Paul obsession funny. Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe however said he could not recall Abdul asking them to remove Goodspeed from the audition.

As they say, all good things come to an end. A new report is saying that last Tuesday night’s American Idol only reeled in 21.25 million viewers. It may not sound bad but it’s not Idol best. Apparently, the show has not been that low since its second season in 2003. If you see the number of viewers for Tuesday night performance shows from January 15 up to last week, the numbers go up and down from 33.24 million to the disappointing 21.25 million. It has just not been their season. What is the deal? They need to shake things up for next season.

American Idol has the extreme power of ruining the hopes and dreams of thousands of wannabe singers. But the show has also ruined something besides that – a fan’s dress. A 17-year old fan of the show got ticked off when a sticker they made her wear at an April 22 taping ruined her sequined dress. Said fan tried to take off the sticker to have Andrew Lloyd Webber sign it but the glue from the sticker wouldn’t come off the dress. She’s not planning to sue (she wouldn’t have a case either way) she just wants her dress fixed. She actually emailed the show but only got an automated response.

The American Idol kids might be all polite and humble on the air but sources are saying that they’re a lot more boastful when the cameras are no longer on them. According to sources, once the wannabes get to the apartment complex where they’re all staying, the Idol contestants “act like stars already” and are definitely “not nice” to the building’s staff. Sources also say that they’re hiding from other tenants like their special already. They also add that this year’s crop of contestants is very aloof especially when compared to last year’s crew of nice guys. Geeze, what divas!

Pretty boy Luke Menard has been kicked off American Idol and it seems he may have also been kicked off from the a cappella group he ditched for the show. Chapter 6, a popular all-male group in the college touring circuit, commented on Luke saying “It was a great run for him … At this point Luke has many offers being presented to him and we are not sure if or when he will rejoin the group … we will continue to look for tenors that are able to cover his track and we will continue to tour and record.”

The nudity police strike again at American Idol. Seems we can’t get a Top 24 that doesn’t have at least one member who has shed her clothing at some point.

But here’s the shocker – this time, it’s a guy! Apparently David Hernandez spent some time as a male stripper in Glendale, Arizona, at a place called Dick’s Cabaret. He appeared fully nude and gave lap dances to the clientele – which is made up primarily of men.

Of course, this also sparks rumors of homosexuality for David Hernandez. No response from anyone on his side, yet. We’ll see if this affects his Idol run this week since he was a frontrunner last week.