American Idol

Simon Cowell is continuing his baronial ways ... this time dropping $25 million on an amazing Malibu pad.

Our real estate sources tell us Simon is in escrow on a 10,000 square foot, 7 bedroom home right on Pacific Coast Highway. The house has amazing ocean views, a ridiculous pool and a super modern interior.

It's got pretty much everything you might want, including a tennis court. It looks more like a resort than a home.

When Simon's in L.A., his main home is in Beverly Hills -- done up in his signature black and white. He dropped $15.5 mil on the estate. He also has a home in London.

Detroit Lions star Marvin Jones listen up ... sure you might've killed your "American Idol" audition like O.J. in his prime, but that doesn't mean you're gonna win the show ...

UNLESS YOU LISTEN TO RUBEN STUDDARD RIGHT NOW.

We got Studdard, America's "Velvet Teddy Bear" and 'Idol' Season 2 champion, at LAX and asked him to rate Marvin's audition, and give him a little advice for the journey to the top.

First off, Ruben was sold on Marvin's voice -- makes sense, the MAN CAN SANG -- and as far as advice, he used his gorgeous voice to drop some knowledge on the kid.

BTW -- Did you know Ruben Studdard was a former college football player? Neither did we, but now that we think about it, makes sense.

Jordin Sparks might've been keeping her marriage and pregnancy under wraps but there's no denying it now because she's got that pregnancy glow.

Jordin stepped out Wednesday in Studio City ... the first time she's been spotted since announcing she'd gotten both hitched and knocked up this summer. Lucky guy and father-to-be is fitness model Dana Isaiah.

Although Jordin was dressed casual in Yeezys and wore no makeup, she still looked radiant. She's only about 3 months along, so can't really tell there's a pea in the pod, but the smile says it all.

Jordin Sparks is the queen of splashes -- she's not only been married since July, she's also expecting her first kiddo!!!

The former "American Idol" winner says she and her fitness guru/aspiring model boyfriend, Dana Isaiah, secretly eloped in Hawaii back in July. She says they got married in front of a small group of friends. We did some digging and saw these photos of the new couple hitting the beach days after the wedding ... where you can see Jordin's gold wedding band.

As if that wasn't huge news already ... Jordin also told PEOPLE she got pregnant in August. Jordin said learning she was pregnant was an "initial shock" but now she's excited about sharing the news.

7:50 AM PT -- Simon actually fell backwards down the stairs. We're told he had already gone to the kitchen, and was on his way back upstairs when he fainted and tumbled.

Simon Cowell was rushed to a hospital early Friday morning after falling down a flight of stairs.

We're told Simon was asleep in the upstairs bedroom of his London home. He woke up in the middle of the night, felt dizzy as he tried to go downstairs to the kitchen for some milk. We're told he fainted and tumbled to the bottom of the staircase.

An ambulance came, put him in a neck brace and neighbors saw Cowell placed in the back of the ambulance on a stretcher.

We're told doctors have performed a CAT scan and more tests are being performed.

He's in stable condition and still in the hospital.

Simon's girlfriend/baby mama Lauren Silverman was in New York visiting her son and is currently on a plane flying back to London to be with Simon.

Luke Bryan just made official what we told you about early Friday morning -- he and Lionel Richie are joining Katy Perry as judges #2 and 3 on "American Idol."

The country star made the announcement in a video he posted on Twitter just moments ago and hours after TMZ first reported the pending news.

Luke -- all the way from Hayfield, Kansas -- said he's excited to join "the beautiful Ms. Katy Perry and my hero Lionel Richie and my fellow Georgia boy, Ryan Seacrest."

As we reported ... signing all 3 judges didn't come cheap.

"American Idol" has completed the arduous and super expensive process of snagging 3 judges for the show's reboot ... and it didn't come a day too soon.

Sources connected with the production tell TMZ, ABC and Fremantle, which co-owns the show with Core Media Group, will announce as early as Friday night they have signed Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie as judges #2 and 3.

Luke and Lionel will join Katy Perry ... and join her fast. We're told shooting begins Tuesday.

We're told although Luke and Lionel have agreed to join, there could be a delay in announcing if the lawyers start nitpicking.

Production sources tell us, the show has gone way over the intended budget ... largely because Katy Perry held them up for $25 million. Ryan Seacrest's making somewhere between $10 and $15 mil, and that pretty much blew the budget sky high.

We're told Luke signed for around $13 million and Lionel got close to $10 million. It's going to be difficult to turn a profit unless the show is an out-of-the-park home run.

The folks who are bringing you "American Idol" again are in conflict over racial composition of the judge's panel ... TMZ has learned.

Now that Katy Perry is in place and Luke Bryan is just days from signing, ABC and Fremantle, which co-owns the show, are trying to settle on a third judge. Sources connected to the production tell us Fremantle wants Charlie Puth, but ABC believes there must be racial diversity on the panel.

We're told the network continues to have its eye on Lionel Richie, who has been in play for several months. So far, we're told there's a standoff, but someone's gotta blink because they're almost ready to begin filming with the judges.

And this is interesting ... we're told Fremantle has taken a meeting with Troy Carter, a super manager of performers like John Legend, Nelly, Meghan Trainor, Miguel and Gaga. He's also one of the initial, big investors in Spotify. We're told one of the reasons Carter may be appealing ... if ABC wins on the diversity issue, Carter wouldn't come with as big a price tag as Lionel, and the budget is almost blown.

Luke Bryan has reportedly landed the second seat as a judge on the rebooted "American Idol" series alongside Katy Perry -- but our sources say the the deal is NOT officially done ... not yet, at least.

According to reports ... Luke is confirmed as the 2nd judge, although the details of his payment/perks are unclear for now. However, we're told he hasn't signed on the dotted line as of Sunday, but is expected to sign on within days. In other words, it's happening soon.

We broke the story ... 'Idol' wanted Luke badly, but couldn't come to terms on money. He wanted more than they were offering, and producers tried supplementing his salary with a Disney deal due to budget restrictions.

The problem ... 'Idol' has not locked down a 3rd judge as of yet, and time/money is running out. As we reported ... they were considering everyone from Lionel Richie to Charlie Puth and Keith Urban, but their dough's running dry because of how much they're already paying Katy as well as Ryan Seacrest, who scored significantly less to return as host.

THIIIIIISSSS ... is "American Idol" meets "Cops."

The person in this mug shot is NOT Ryan Seacrest ... but, c'mon, the resemblance is uncanny!!!

One of our eagle-eyed users was perusing the booking photos when she found this guy -- who looks strikingly similar to Seacrest.

In fact, they're both the same age (42) and height (5'8").

Unfortunately for this dude, cops say he was recently busted on a meth charge -- so that sucks. Hopefully, he can get his life together.

But if Seacrest ever wants to call in sick ... hey, we got your stand-in!!

"American Idol" has backed itself into a corner, because it might need to delay taping until it lands more judges ... but that doesn't work for the only judge it's got so far -- Katy Perry.

Our 'Idol' sources tell us ... Thursday is the last stop for the show's tour bus auditions, and it's just weeks away from the planned taped auditions with the judges. Problem is -- producers are no closer to locking down stars to join Katy on the panel.

So the dilemma is simple and serious -- if the show's forced to postpone filming, it will likely conflict with Perry's Witness tour schedule producers worked so hard to accommodate in the first place.

Adding to the dilemma ... 'A.I.' still hasn't signed desired judge #2, Luke Bryan. We're told he wants more money, and the Disney perks he was offered instead of cash didn't cut it. 'Idol's' no closer to landing the 3rd judge.

Our sources say everything's still up in the air -- not a good place to be for a legendary show trying to make a triumphant return to TV.

"American Idol" is struggling to land judges to join Katy Perry because of budget limitations, but it still has a weapon on reserve to lure 'em in -- a partnership with Disney.

Our 'A.I.' sources tell us ... the show's talent budget has a $40 million cap, which has been depleted by signing Perry for $25 mil and Ryan Seacrest for just over $10 mil. So, producers are having to get creative and sweeten the deal by offering celebs Disney perks that will turn into a big payday.

We're told the perks include production deals, licensing and merchandising deals for Disney properties ... and also theme park partnerships. For example, Disney's Hollywood Studios features the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith ... but can always add more names.

As we reported ... 'Idol' made an offer to country star Luke Bryan to be judge #2. As far as we know, the deal isn't sealed ... at least not yet.

Perhaps we'll be seeing Space Mountain starring Luke Bryan.

"American Idol" alum Haley Reinhart's pal -- who was choked out by bouncers at a bar in Illinois -- is now putting the squeeze on them ... legally speaking.

Alan Chislof just filed a lawsuit against the Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille and one of its bouncers, Adam Sobanski, for the July beatdown that left him with what he says are permanent injuries.

We broke the story ... Alan claims he was choked so badly by Adam and other security that night, he suffered a concussion, a facial laceration near his right temple, a bad cut above his left eye, facial bruising and hematoma. Haley was arrested soon after when she allegedly punched one of the bouncers in the scuffle.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Alan's lawyer, Mark A. Brown, says Adam's responsible for his injuries and Lamplighter is responsible for negligently hiring and not properly training him to be a good security guard (i.e. not beating the crap out of its customers). The dude's already facing 2 felony counts for the altercation.

"American Idol" alum William Hung can still pack a full house, which is exactly what happened on Saturday night at a bar in Arizona.

Will -- who went viral for his attempt at Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" on 'A.I.' in 2004 -- played at the Third Base bar in Chandler.

We're told the bar booked him for $1k and paid for his airfare and travel just so he could perform there, and Will managed to bring in some 250 patrons.

Will lived it up like a true VIP ... he got his own booth and ended up signing autographs and taking pics with fans, who also bought him shots. We'd say it helped with the nerves but, judging from the footage, he's a pro.

The "American Idol" reboot seems to be in crisis -- honchos still haven't locked down a second, third and possibly fourth judge, with only 6 weeks until cameras roll.

TMZ broke the story ... producers first set their sights on Katy Perry, who will be pocketing $25 mil.

Our 'Idol' sources tell us ... none of the previous front-runners -- Lionel Richie, Charlie Puth, Luke Bryan or Keith Urban -- are any closer to signing than they were a few weeks ago. We're told record producer Nile Rodgers has now been tossed in the mix.

The issue with Lionel, we're told, is his team's asking around $10 mil ... double what they want to pay. 'A.I.' producers are also still debating whether to go with 3 or 4 judges. At this point it all comes down to money, but it sounds like they'd like 4.

Auditions for 'Idol' hopefuls kick off Thursday in Orlando, but filmed auditions in front of the judges don't begin until the end of Sept.

So there's still time ... but it's getting dicey.

"American Idol" is getting closer to assembling a full squad -- the show's zeroing in on finalists to join Katy Perry on the judges' panel.

'Idol' sources tell TMZ ... Lionel Richie's still a favorite to fill one of the 2 remaining seats, and singer Charlie Puth has emerged as a front-runner for the other one. We're told show execs will meet with ABC this week to finalize their choices and make offers.

There could be a country curveball, though ... our sources say Luke Bryan is in the mix because he impressed producers in early discussions. Also, if things don't work out with 2 of those 3 ... we're told Keith Urban is an 'Idol' vet who could slide in as an alternate.

Katy and Ryan are anxiously waiting to see who joins 'em.