In Touch Weekly is reporting that American Idol is again romancing ex-judge Paula Abdul. Once the lone female on the judging panel, Abdul failed to come to a contractual agreement with Idol over the summer. She was replaced on the panel by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, who has failed to deliver little more than odd comparisons and one-liners on the singing show.

According to an unnamed source quoted by the mag, Paula is currently talking to producers about her return. Ratings for the reality hit have been down this year (it’s getting beat by Dancing With the Stars on ABC), and the show is scrambling to save itself in the face of Simon Cowell’s imminent departure. Is Paula Abdul the answer to lifting the flagging sails on the Idol ship? 

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