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Robin Thicke has slammed his doomed TV talent show "Duets" as "soulless," insisting he signed on as a judge for the big paycheck. The musician was a mentor on the ABC show, which teamed contestants up with Thicke and fellow coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles for weekly singing battles. The show was scrapped after its first season last year. Thicke admits he feared his stint on TV was affecting his reputation as an artist. 

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He tells Britain's Metro newspaper, "I didn't care for it. Everyone was wonderful, and it was a great environment. But I found it soulless and felt it was sucking my artistic integrity from me. Judges Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and I sang with the contestants on each episode, which is why it was attractive to me. It gave me the opportunity to sing in front of millions of people on TV every week. I did it because it paid well. I'm hoping I'll be rich enough off this album so I won't have to do that again."

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Former "American Idol" boss Nigel Lythgoe has called for Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson to be reinstated as judges in a bid to save the flailing talent show. Lythgoe announced on Monday that he and fellow executive producer Ken Warwick had departed after 13 years in charge of the long-running series. The latest season suffered a dramatic fall in the ratings, despite the panel boasting Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. Lythgoe, who sits as a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance," insists executives at FOX should return to the original format to prevent "Idol" from being scrapped. 

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He tells E! Online, "I believe in getting people together, testing their chemistry -- which is what I did with Randy, Paula and Simon. After that, whoever you bring in is a risk because we've (seen) it happen before. It's one of those things. You don't know how anybody's going to be as a judge. You could be the greatest singer in the world (but) that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a good judge. That little team -- Randy, Paula and Simon -- again are the template for judges forever now."

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"Dancing With the Stars" professional Derek Hough has opened up about his brief romance with British pop star Cheryl Cole -- three years after they were rumored to be dating. The choreographer met Cole in 2010, when he was hired to work on her video for "Parachute," but he admits he had never heard any of her music. He explains, "I was asked to do it. I honestly took the gig because it was an excuse to come back to the U.K. as I hadn't been back in so long ... I vaguely knew who Cheryl Cole was -- in that I knew she was very popular in the U.K. But I had never met her. The best I knew of her was from Google searches ... I hadn't heard her music at that time." 

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They immediately hit it off and were soon snapped out together on numerous occasions, prompting speculation they were more than just friends. Cole and Hough remained tight-lipped about the dating claims both during and after their relationship, and the dancer admits he's reluctant to reveal much about their romance even now -- because he values his one-time girlfriend's friendship. He says, "We dated for a while. Absolutely we are still friends. We are still very close ... I don't speak about my time with her because I think often in this culture people take advantage of their friendships. I've never spoken about her because her friendship is important to me." Cole, who is now dating her backup dancer Tre Holloway, has previously praised Hough as "an amazing, amazing person" after he helped her through a near-fatal battle with malaria, which she contracted while on holiday in Tanzania.

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The Robertson family of "Duck Dynast" are recording an album of Christmas tunes set for release October 29. Universal Music Group Nashville announced Monday that they will be releasing the holiday record, aptly named "Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas." The family's musical talents originated from singing in church, and now they aim to showcase their melodic abilities on the festive album.  

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Duck Commander CEO and reality TV star Willie Robertson believes the songs exemplify the longstanding principles of his family, saying, "Faith, family and ducks -- in that order -- have always been our priorities. Christmas is an important holiday for us, not only because of our strong faith but also our holiday family traditions." He adds, "We're having a great time making this album. We hope you enjoy it." A&E's Duck Dynasty chronicles the Louisiana-based Robertson family as they run their multi-million dollar company Duck Commander, which manufactures top-of-the-line duck calls and decoys.

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"Lord of the Rings" and "Lost" star Dominic Monaghan's travel and nature show has been picked up for a second season. "Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan," which debuted in Britain late last year and in America in January, was a hit and picked up a Critics' Choice nomination for Best Reality Series. Perry Simon, the general manager of BBC America, who picked up the U.S. rights to the show, says, "The first season of 'Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan' was an amazing thrill ride that introduced viewers to fascinating rare creatures and exotic locales, and we can't wait to set off on new journeys with Dominic. His vast knowledge of these animals and infectious enthusiasm make him the perfect host for this signature BBC America adventure series." 

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Monaghan adds, "I'm excited to travel the world and continue to tell stories about the rare and beautiful animals we share this planet with on season two of Wild Things. Thanks to all the fans and to BBC America for all their support on a project that means so much to me." He had a blast traveling the world looking for the giant huntsman spider, hairy scorpion and Goliath beetle, among other creepy-crawlies on the show. Promoting "Wild Things" earlier this year, he told WENN that he was far from convinced his globe-trekking was done. He explained, "I'd like to see an animal called the fossa in Madagascar, which is very similar to a wolverine or a large weasel ... They live in the jungles, and they're known as the ghost of the forest. They're very shy creatures. You don't see a lot of them. I'd also like to cage dive with great white sharks. I'd like to swim with the whale shark. I'd like to see polar bears. I'm fascinated by animals in general. There are lists of animals I'd like to see.  I just wanna keep exploring, and I'd like to find a species that has not been known to science before and then maybe call it after my family name. Maybe in these places like Papua New Guinea or in the rainforests of South America there will be something that has never been discovered."

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"Survivor: Gabon" producer Tyler Ramsey was fired after falling in love with contestant Jacquie Berg, while the pair filmed the competition show in Africa. Berg, aka Jacquie Ramsey, was voted out of the jungle on Day 12 of the 2008 season -- but not before meeting the love of her life. Tyler has opened up about the risky circumstances surrounding his exotic romance and his departure from the show. He revealed to Nylon magazine, "She (Jacquie) was a contestant, and I used to be a producer. The only rule they give you is, 'Don't mess around with the contestants'. So I got fired.  I'd never been fired before, so I thought, 'If I'm going to get fired, I'm going to start an international incident!' So I disappeared into the jungle. But after, like, two days, I had to come out for more alcohol." 

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Ramsey is now an in-demand artist, whose work has been commissioned by officials at the United Nations. He's currently working on a new video project featuring people cutting themselves with best friend and actor Armie Hammer. The two pals hope to release the finished piece to raise awareness of atrocities occurring in Africa. Hammer tells Nylon magazine, "The idea was there are all these massacres happening and we can't do anything about them, so we'll spill blood for their blood.  We filmed people cutting themselves. It's an interesting process to watch everyone's self-preservation instinct kick in ... It's really difficult to cut yourself to draw blood." The actor and the artist have no firm plans to release the footage they have so far, with Hammer explaining, "It's a long-term project."

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Ticket sales for the "American Idol" summer tour have plummeted to an all-time low following the least watched season in the singing competition's history. The tour reportedly hit its high in 2011 and only saw a 10 percent decrease in 2012. But this year, sales are already down 347 per cent, according to Radar Online. 

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A spokesman for the tour announced June 4 that the first 10 "American Idol Live" dates were canceled "due to production scheduling changes." The first concert, which will feature Season 12 winner Candice Glover, finalist Kree Harrison and nine other "Idol" standouts, will now be held July 19 instead of June 29.

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A judge has issued an arrest warrant for "Basketball Wives" star Eric Williams after he failed to submit court-ordered DNA for a paternity test. The former NBA player, who is in the process of finalizing his divorce from co-star Jennifer Williams, was hit with a paternity suit last year by a Pennsylvania woman who claimed to have given birth to his son in October 2011, according to TMZ.com. 

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The case required Eric to submit DNA, but he never complied. He has reportedly not hired a lawyer and will not communicate with his alleged mistress. This legal entanglement could affect the outcome of his divorce, as he was still living with Jennifer at the time the baby was born.

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