Reality Show Judges Take Spotlight

If there’s one thing that American Idol can’t do nowadays, besides producing an actual American superstar, it is keeping a judge. Randy Jackson, the last of the three original judges, is leaving his swiveling chair and glass of Coke behind to become a mentor to the potential B-list pop stars. No word on what his new mentor status will entail, but it is probably safe to assume that this isn’t the end of the “dawg” era. Meanwhile, on the other side of the singing competition spectrum, X Factor’s Britney Spears is once again proving her status as a bona fide pop legend with her second tribute episode on Glee. Let’s just hope it’s more Britney circa 2001 MTV VMA’s and less 2007 shaved head and umbrella throwing incident. And just in case you were wondering where the albino python ended up, Britney recently tweeted that Banana the snake is still living happily knowing it set the VMA performance bar a little too high.

Baby Meatball Joins Jersey Shore Cast

Jersey Shore’s infamous Snooki has done something more shocking than anything she ever did on her reality show: she became a mother. The party girl and her fiancé, Jionni LaValle, welcomed their first son Lorenzo Dominic LaValle. Weighing in at just 6 pounds, 5 ounces, Lorenzo’s arrival ushered cries across the Internet that 2012 must truly be the year that the world would end. Although the predictions were light hearted, Lorenzo would unknowingly bring a different kind of end – on Aug. 31, MTV’s Vice President of Programming Chris Linn announced that the upcoming fall season of Jersey Shore would be the last.

Katy Perry is ‘Pop’ular

Just fresh off the whirlwind adventure that premiering a movie brings, Katy Perry is back promoting a new kind of treat. As Popchips’ new spokeswoman, Katy is now featured alongside playful phrases like “spare me the guilt chip” and “nothing fake about them” as she holds two bags in front of her chest. The partnership is being predictably “Katy”—playful and bold—something that John Mayer must have overlooked. A few months ago, Katy and John began a midsummer’s romance that ended abruptly in late August. A source at Us Weekly claims that Katy’s partying ways were too much for the laidback rock and blues musician and an email was sent to break it off. Maybe John is still on vocal rest from his surgery last March? Probably not.