First she’s in, then she’s out, and now she’s back in? There is a lot of press drama surrounding Jennifer Lopez as a potential judge on American Idol — and here’s my take on the behind-the-scenes of what has really gone down. When word leaked that Lopez would be a judge, she had not yet signed her contract. The folks over at Idol figured that it was nearly a done deal, but insisted to the public that nothing was final until she signed on the dotted line. Well, they certainly knew what they were talking about. Before Lopez signed, it became clear through press leaks that her demands got out of control, and they were simply done with negotiations. Why announce this publicly? As a negotiating ploy, of course. Fox wants to let Lopez know that they can play hard-ball too, and the best way to do that is to call her bluff with a public announcement that the negotiation fell through. Lopez probably got wise, and had her people return to battle. Now, they are back to the drawing board, and once again awaiting her to sign her deal. How long will this take, and will she actually make any concessions? I predict she’ll sign, because artists no longer have the kind of leverage they once had in the industry, or she’ll learn a lesson the hard-way. And by “hard-way,” I mean lose her chance at staying relevant for a couple more minutes.