FOX SAYS THAT PAULA WILL BE REPLACED BEFORE IDOL AIRS IN JANUARY

The drama that has shaken the American Idol world is over -- as Fox announced that judge Paula Abdul will be replaced before the talent competition is back on the air in January.

In addition, Fox is lining up guest judges to fill Abdul's now empty chair -- including already signed singers Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice).

So it appears that Fox is wasting no time in saying good-bye to Paula and moving on.

Fox Entertainment told reporters at a Television Critics Association press conference that Abdul almost certainly will not be coming back to American Idol, according to sources attending that meeting.

"We were hoping Paula came back," Rice said according to MTV. "We love Paula. She's been clearly wonderful on the show for eight years and was an important part of the 'Idol' family. There's going to be a change. It wasn't a decision we made. But now that the decision has been made, we have to look at it in a positive way. We have to look at it as an opportunity for the show to bring a different energy to it and an energy that can be entertaining for the public."

Rice also claimed that Fox made a "very fair" offer to Abdul that included a raise, but that she decided to instead not return to the show. MTV said that according to reports, the offer was "a multiyear, eight-figure deal that would have been a 30 percent race from her last contract." Other sources have estimated her most recent salary as in the $3 to $4 million range.

It also appears that Fox intends to continue with a four-judge panel for Idol.

"I think that the four judges were getting in the rhythm last year," said Rice according to dailynews. "We'll probably have four judges again."

In the meantime, there certainly seem to be some folks shaking their heads and wondering about the wisdom of some of Fox's ideas. Among them might be former American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe.

Currently producer/judge of the successful dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance, Lythgoe opined first that Fox would be crazy to let Paula go. Then he disagreed that four judges are a good idea. Additionally, Lythgoe was critical of Fox's handling of contract negotiations with Idol judges, saying that all such information should have remained private.

But it seems that Lythgoe might feel that Fox's biggest mistake of all is simply letting Paula go. Within hours of Abdul's Twitter message to fans that she would be leaving the show, Lythgoe and Abdul scheduled a meeting to discuss the possibility of her joining the SYTYCD family.

Rice added, "I have no expectation that Paula's going to (return to negotiations). And in terms of the negotiations themselves, the negotiations have concluded."

As for a new judge for Idol, Rice said, "What we need to find is someone who has great chemistry. It's really a casting job. ... There are multiple right answers and there are multiple wrong answers. Our job in the next four or five months is to really consider what makes this the most fun and the most entertaining."

Abdul continues to place messages to her fans on Twitter, but the most recent postings have neither mentioned Fox nor any possibility of returning to negotiations with Idol executives.