Seacrest High Fives Blind ‘Idol’ Contestant Scott MacIntyre

The most talked about moment of Tuesday night’s season premiere of ‘American Idol’ was when host Ryan Seacrest attempted to high five a blind contestant who made it to Hollywood, only to then realize his error and grab Arizona auditioner Scott MacIntyre’s hand and tell him he’s giving him the celebratory gesture. Video of TMZ letting Seacrest have it has since been removed at MySpace.

Analyzing Simon Cowell’s ‘American Idol’ Conference Call

December 22, 2008 - ‘Showbiz Tonight’ analyzed Simon Cowell’s comments on the new season of ‘American Idol’, Ken Baker of E! and Lisa Bloom of truTV. While Simon said the contestants will still get criticized and they should expect it - even after the apparent suicide of obsessed Paula Abdul fan Paula Goodspeed - Lisa and Ken suggested that wouldn’t be a good idea. As for fourth judge Kara Dioguardi, Simon says he’ll have to watch the show and see how it works out, but Ken thought it was a good idea, and Lisa said having a fourth judge will be good because it means less airtime for Simon.

‘Showbiz Tonight’ also had the results of their poll, with only 32% saying Paula Abdul was essential to ‘Idol’ and 68% said she wasn’t. Ken said that while Paula wasn’t essential, she’s kind of like a family’s crazy and kookie aunt, and America accepts Paula as part of the show’s family. The video at Turner.com has since been removed.

‘Showbiz Tonight’ Reacts To Simon Cowell Reacting To Paula Abdul

December 19, 2008 - ‘Showbiz Tonight’ has Simon Cowell’s response to Paula Abdul’s claims that ‘American Idol’ producers knew about her obsessed fan Paula Goodspeed, who apparently committed suicide outside Paula’s home. Then, co-host Brooke Anderson spoke with AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman and Michael Yo of E! about the controversy. The video at Turner.com has since been removed.