‘Idol’ didn’t make an offer to Stern, source says

Sources close to “American Idol” continue to dispel rumors that Howard Stern will be joining the show, and some have gone so far as to say no formal offer was ever made to the radio host.

“Could he have talked to someone at 19 Entertainment (the production company behind ‘Idol’)? Sure. Did he get an offer? No. No way,” said one source.

Stern originally told his radio listeners that he was offered a role on an television show, without naming the program, and said that he carefully considered the offer, laid out demands, and ultimately said no.

Is he creating pure fiction for the purposes of having negotiating power when his five-year deal with Sirius satellite radio ends later this year? Possibly, but Stern might have gotten such an offer — just not for “Idol.” The latest rumor is that Stern was actually offered a seat on “America’s Got Talent.”

“He gets an offer from ‘America’s Got Talent,’ talks about it without naming the show on his radio show, and of course everyone assumes it’s ‘Idol,’ ” said another source familiar with Stern’s offers. “There’s no way he’s going to deny it’s ‘Idol’ and ‘Idol’ isn’t going to deny it because it’s good that the show’s being talked about, and Howard is a big fan.”

Stern’s rep did not respond to requests for a response, and representatives for “America’s Got Talent” had no comment.

Jay-Z didn’t want ‘World’ remake
The new recording of “We Are the World” will premiere during Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony. In an NBC News interview with Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie, two of the original “WATW” participants, it’s revealed that Jay-Z was among those who thought that the classic song should be left alone.

Slideshow: Celebrity Sightings “A lot of people told us that (there should be no remake of the song),” Jones said. “Jay-Z said that to me. He said it shouldn’t be remade.”

Richie said that the opportunity to pass along the song to a new generation was part of the decision to go ahead with the recording, sales of which will benefit Haiti.

“If you have an opportunity in life to pass that legacy on to another group of people — another generation, another lifetime — and you're sitting there going, ‘It can only be done because I did it,’ then we didn’t leave our egos at the door properly,” Richie said. “In this case, when it’s being taught in the elementary schools now as an anthem and it’s little girls and little boys singing — not Lionel Richie, not Michael Jackson, not Springsteen — you understand? You pass the legacy on because it’s not who sang it, it’s what it represents. Where there are people dying, it’s time to lend a hand to life, the greatest gift of all.”

I heart the weekend box office
“Valentine’s Day” stands the best chance at the box office this Valentine’s Day weekend. Although too-good-to-be-true ensemble casts tend to spell doom, in this case, the rom-com should win out, thanks to the something-for-everyone star-studded lineup and the PG-13 rating (and of course, the timing).

Coming in second among the weekend’s newcomers, look out for “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” It’s really the only kid-friendly choice out there right now, and with producer Chris Columbus at the helm, expect it to have the feel of his previous kid flicks such as “Harry Potter” and “Night at the Museum.”

Finally, there’s “The Wolfman,” with Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins. A horror flick over Valentine’s Day weekend? There’s a lot to be said for counter-programming ...

Courteny Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc.