American Idol 2011 Aiming for Sir Elton John to Join

Why is it that no one seems to be willing to be a judge on American Idol 2011? The latest news is that Nigel Lythgoe is trying to convince Sir Elton John to come on the show as a judge for this next season. John definitely has the requisite skills to fit the bill, but doesn’t that guy still have an active career and something better to do? Nigel told Deadline:

“I must say, I really do love Elton John. He’s a huge favorite of mine,” Lythgoe replied to me. The producer added that Elton’s packed schedule is “always the problem”. Then Lythgoe revealed what strategy Idol is using on Elton to convince him to clear it and come on the show. “It depends on whether [he] wants to give back.”

Give what back? Did he lose a bet to Lythgoe? I can’t imagine Lythgoe considers American Idol to be a charity unless he just wants him for Idol Gives Back.

But seriously, why can’t they go for someone reasonable and just lock down this panel of American Idol 2011 judges? If they’ve got Randy and Steven Tyler then we need a woman to round things out, right? So who is it gonna be?