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And I feel bad for calling her a crybaby... she's only 16 )

By Ann Donahue Fri Feb 29, 9:43 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - To paraphrase "The Godfather: Part III" -- just when you think you're out on "American Idol," they pull you back in.

Season-two winner Ruben Studdard will perform the "farewell song" used to send off the losing contestants when they depart the top 12. This year, the song will be a cover of Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home."

It's a significant gig for Studdard, who was dropped by J Records at the end of 2007. He is, however, still managed by the show's 19 Entertainment and under contract to subsidiary 19 Recordings, a link that paved the way for him to return to the show as the song's performer.

"Ruben has never left our fold," "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe says. "(With) the success that we've had with the play-off song, I wanted to keep it in-house."

The "American Idol" season-five farewell song, Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," went on to sell 1.9 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was the top digital download of 2006.

As part of the show's new sponsorship this season by iTunes, "Celebrate Me Home" will be made available digitally starting March 12, the day the first of the top 12 will be eliminated. In addition, it is expected to be included on one of the compilation albums annually released by "American Idol," according to 19 Entertainment U.S. head Iain Pirie.

"Celebrate Me Home" was selected after Lythgoe suggested the tune to Pirie and show creator Simon Fuller. "Each year we think about what's going to reflect that really special TV moment," Pirie says. "Musically and lyrically, it fits it perfectly."

Pirie says Studdard was chosen to record the track in part because of the warm reception he received for an appearance on last season's "American Idol" finale. Studdard is in negotiations to perform the song during "Idol Gives Back," the show's midseason charity effort.

Loggins' version of "Celebrate Me Home," originally released on an album of the same title in 1977, has sold 73,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It's traditionally thought of as a Christmas tune, but the first line of the song -- "Home for the holidays" -- has been excised to make it less seasonal, Lythgoe says, while Studdard has given the track an updated feel.

Reuters/Billboard

Tue Mar 4, 9:16 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "American Idol" producers are shrugging off the latest sex scandal to hit the top-rated U.S. television show, saying contestant David Hernandez can stay in the competition despite his past as a stripper.

"We've had strippers on the show before," executive producer Ken Warwick was quoted on Tuesday as telling the Web site TVGuide.com. "We're never judgmental about people who do things like that.

"If it were some sort of heavy porn, then maybe we'd have to take action. But certainly not on this."

Warwick's comments came as media reports surfaced that Hernandez, 24, had worked as an adult entertainer at a Phoenix strip club where he appeared nude and performed lap dances for a mostly male clientele.

The Fox network, which broadcasts "Idol," declined to comment on the matter. But sources close to the show said Hernandez would remain in the competition until, or unless, he gets voted off by fans.

He was one of eight male contestants to perform on Tuesday's broadcast, two days before the current assembly of 16 semi-finalists is winnowed to 12. He advanced to the current round last week after winning glowing praise from all three judges with his performance of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone."

The circumstances surrounding Hernandez are reminiscent of a scandal in 2003 when contestant Frenchie Davis, whose powerhouse vocals dazzled the judges, was dismissed from the show following the discovery that she had posed topless on a pornographic Web site.

"Idol" producers felt Davis' case crossed a line because she had appeared on a site that purported to feature sexually explicit photos of underage girls, said a person close to the show who was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly.

Last year, another female contestant, Antonella Barba, created a stir after several racy photos of her showed up on the Internet. She was allowed to remain on the show but was voted out by fans.

In 2005, the show was rocked by claims of former contestant Corey Clark that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with celebrity judge Paula Abdul two years earlier. An internal inquiry by Fox found no evidence to support his allegations.

Reuters/Nielsen