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If Katie Holmes can perform on So You Think You Can Dance, then hubby Tom Cruise can certainly be a judge, right?

So says SYTYCD judge Mary Murphy.

"He goes way back to Risky Business doing his thing," says Murphy, referring to Cruise's iconic gyrating underwear dancing. "He was on the hot-tamale train back then!"

She added with a laugh, "That hot tamale can come by anytime."

Also on Murphy's wish list? Justin Timberlake and another certain hottie...

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Ellen DeGeneres may do a fine job defending herself against critics who don't think she's qualified to be a judge on American Idol, but that doesn't mean her supporters are going to sit back and let her do all the work.

"She loves the show, she loves music, and she's a star," fellow judge Kara DioGuardi says. "You got to be a star to win the show."

And she continued…

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Even if Victoria Beckham was a two-time guest judge for American Idol, she insists she had no intention of trying to replace Paula Abdul on a full-time basis.

"Ellen [DeGeneres] is going to be fantastic," Beckham, 35, told me last night while promoting her latest dress collection during Fashion's Night Out at New York's Bergdorf Goodman.

"For me, I just love the fact that I could dip in and dip out. It was great," she said. "I saw so much talent, and to be a part of making someone's dream come true was exciting for me."

But how did Beckham handle having to crush someone's dream? Keep reading to find out, plus she reveals what hot soccer hubby David…smells like!

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Paula Abdul's good friend and former American Idol wannabe Michael Johns says it's time for the reality show's producers to pay up.

He doesn't understand why they didn't give the ousted judge what she wanted to stay on.

"She's not asking for what [Ryan] Seacrest is getting paid," Johns told us last night at In Style editor Ariel Foxman's Summer Soiree party at the London hotel in West Hollywood. "She's asking for $20 million over three years, so I think she totally deserves that money. She's a huge reason people tune in to the show…I think Fox should pull their finger out and pay her what she deserves."

Johns said Abdul confided in him during the negotiations.

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Sean "Diddy" Combs is on the hunt for new talent. Not only is he looking for musicians to back him up on tour for his new album, Last Train to Paris, on MTV's Making His Band, but he just premiered Starmaker, an American Idol-like reality show that's also on the music network.

"You have everything from soul to pop to rock to country," Diddy told me yesterday from his New York City offices. "We equipped them with a choreographer, a stylist, a vocal coach and a manager. That's why it's called a Starmaker, because we're trying to make a star."

Sounds like Starmaker could be a training camp for divas. But no worries—Diddy is OK with that. "I don't know any superstars who are not divas," he said with a laugh. "As long as divas come with hit records, I'm not afraid. I can handle them."

That's not all I have for you from the 39-year-old music impresario. Read on to find out what he says about Paula Abdul, working with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, and why he has no plans for a Diddy's Apprentice.

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Paula Abdul may not be one of the contestants on season nine of Dancing With the Stars, but Cheryl Burke still has hope the former American Idol cheerleader judge will pop up on the show.

"As a contestant she'd just blow everyone out of the water, but as a guest judge she has a lot to say, because she has so much dance experience," Burke recently told me.

Burke said Abdul has been a DWTS fan for quite some time…

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Jennifer Hudson didn't win American Idol, but she did win an Oscar.

So is it any surprise to hear an American Idol winner confess he's looking to do some acting?

"I would love to," season seven winner David Cook, 26, told us at his CD signing at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal CityWalk in L.A. when we asked if he wants to get into the movies. "It's another kind of way to be creative, so I'm very on board for that."

One thing he's not on board for, however, is replacing Paula Abdul at the Idol judges' table…

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Lifetime

Mark Ballas wouldn't mind seeing Paula Abdul on Dancing With the Stars—just not as a judge.

"I think we're good with our judges," Ballas told me yesterday at the Teen Choice Awards. "I think she should be on the show as a competitor."

Considering Ms. Abdul's dance background, can't she be one of the show's professional dancers?

Nope…

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Jordin Sparks is not happy about the Paula Abdul situation over at American Idol.

"It was dumb on American Idol's part," the winner of season six told us earlier today at 102.7 KISS-FM's Teen Choice Awards gifting lounge. "I love American Idol and I respect them. It's because of them that I got my start, but Paula was one of the original judges. She helped soften the blow for contestants when we didn't do well. I love Paula.

"The show will definitely not be the same without her, and I feel bad that future contestants will not get to experience having her on the show," she continued. "I'm so sad."

But when the going gets sad, the sad go swagging. Among the free loot that Ms. Sparks picked up at the lounge were a Disney Couture skull wrap, some Too Faced lash injection Mascara and metal and eye-liner and a Graffiti Remarkable backpack.

—Reporting by Dahvi Shira

________

Read what some other American Idol stars had to say about Paula's departure here.

Fox; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Carrie Underwood isn't looking to jump-start an acting career, but she wouldn't mind a guest-starring gig on ABC's House.

"I love House," Underwood told me the other night at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy bash. "You know, I'm not an actress, but I think I would like to do something for the fun of it. I usually find when people try to cross over from music to acting or acting to music that one of those two are not very good."

And speaking of not being very good at something, the American Idol winner says she wasn't impressed by Katrina "Bikini Girl" Darrell's unorthodox way of auditioning for the new season of A.I.

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Amazon

Paula Abdul, Monica Lewinsky and Isaiah Washington.

These are just three of the celebrities über-publicist Howard Bragman has represented in his more than 20 years in the PR biz (after cofounding powerhouse firm Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, he went on to start his current outfit, Fifteen Minutes.) Now he’s telling all and handing out his expertise in a new book, Where’s My Fifteen Minutes? Get Your Company, Your Cause, or Yourself the Recognition You Deserve.

Enjoy some free pearls of PR wisdom from him on the jump:

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