Last week, Paula Abdul got flowers with a note signed, “Love, J.T.” and the message, “Hope you’re doing great. Here’s my new cell number.”

Thinking they had come from her restaurateur boyfriend J.T. Torregiani, Abdul called him asking why he had changed his number, a source close to Abdul tells PEOPLE. When he said he hadn’t, Abdul knew immediately who really sent them: ex-American Idol contestant Paula Goodspeed, according to the source.

Over the last three years - since Goodspeed was dismissed from her disastrous Idol audition with derisive comments from judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson - Abdul has received more than 100 letters, numerous phone calls and uninvited visits from Goodspeed, the source says.

“The flower thing was really scary - Paula %26#91;Abdul%26#93; really couldn’t handle that. She was terrified,” says the source.

Signs of Goodspeed’s infatuation with Abdul included her car’s personalized license plate “ABL LV” and a photo of Abdul hanging from the rearview mirror. During her audition, she said that she often drew pictures of Abdul and been drawing them since she was young.

Also, PEOPLE has learned, Goodspeed had changed her first name from Sandra to Paula.

But a relative of Goodspeed, who knew her well, disputes the characterization of her as a celebrity stalker.

She Was a %26#34;Good Person%26#34;

“She was a good person. She’d give the shirt off her back for anyone who needed it. She was not suicidal,” says her niece, Sonja McIntyre, 20, of Maine, who last spoke with her aunt about two months ago.

“She was cheery. She was excited,” says McIntyre. “She was coming back to Maine” - where Goodspeed grew up.

McIntyre confirms that Goodspeed changed her name from Sandra to Paula, but says she did it about 16 years ago and suggests the decision may not have had anything to do with Abdul. “She just liked the name Paula,” she says.

Although Abdul says she never voluntarily met Goodspeed since the audition, Goodspeed told her niece that she had met Abdul about a year ago - “at Starbucks or something,” she says - and that Goodspeed was “excited she got to meet such a big star.”

When McIntyre visited California, her aunt showed her Abdul’s house, but not in a way that suggested she was a stalker.

“Me and her went by Paula’s house a couple of times. That’s about it,” says the niece. “She was showing me where she lived. We liked looking at the huge condos out there … Why they found her dead in her car near Paula Abdul’s house, I do not know. But I don’t believe my aunt killed herself.”

Struggled as a Singer

Ed Faris, a producer/songwriter in Los Angeles, worked with Goodspeed on her fledgling singing career around 2005 or 2006, and remembered her as “a bit off the wall.”

“I was hired by her singing coach to help Paula record some songs,” he says. “She wore the craziest outfits. She’d show up to my home studio wearing fluorescent pants and skirts, with trinkets hanging off her jacket. She was a sweet person, very nice, but a little insecure.”

Once she started singing, though, Faris immediately knew she wouldn’t be taken seriously in the music industry.

“She was a bit delusional thinking she could make a career out of this, but she was so incredibly determined, so %26#91;the singing coach%26#93; and I tried to encourage her,” he says. “Paula did make a couple references to Paula Abdul, but nothing really out of the ordinary.”

During the recording process, Goodspeed struggled and “broke down and cried several times,” Faris says, and in the end they finished only one song and left two others incomplete. He sent the tracks to the singing coach, “and that was the last time I worked with Paula,” he says.

“I was shocked to hear about her death, I never thought it would come to that,” says Faris. “It’s just a sad situation all around.”

• Reporting by JENNIFER GARCIA, LIZA HAMM and KEN LEE

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Source:www.People.com

A former American Idol contestant apparently infatuated with Paula Abdul was found dead Tuesday night in a car near Abdul’s Los Angeles house.

Paula Goodspeed, 30, a Season 5 contender whose audition performance of “Proud Mary” was panned and mocked by the judges, appears to have died of a drug overdose, police say.

“Ms. Goodspeed’s mother had gone to %26#91;the sheriff’s department%26#93; to report her daughter missing, and advised them that she might be suicidal,” says Los Angeles police Capt. James Miller. “The sheriffs determined that Ms. Goodspeed may be up in the vicinity by Paula Abdul’s house. Our officers discovered her vehicle parked on the street, and found her inside. She was unresponsive to officers.”

“This has been ruled an apparent suicide,” said LAPD officer April Harding.

Abdul was at the studio at the time the body was found and wasn’t aware of it until she was told by the network, her rep says.

Abdul Expresses Shock

“I am deeply shocked and saddened at what transpired yesterday,” Abdul said in a statement. “My heart and prayers go out to her family.”

“I really like Paula Abdul a lot. She’s really cool,” said Goodspeed when asked about her inspiration during the Idol audition process. “I’m a really big fan, and I made life-sized drawings of Paula. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid, and my first drawing was of Paula Abdul.”

Goodspeed Panned by Judges

But after singing her rendition of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary,” the woman was roundly panned by the show’s judges.

“It was terrible, what was that?” said Randy Jackson. In addition, Simon Cowell made disparaging remarks about her braces: “I don’t know how you can sing with all that metal in your mouth.”

Abdul, who lit up when Goodspeed said her name was Paula, said, “Speechless, don’t know what to say” after hearing the song.

• Additional reporting by KEN LEE

Who’s your Favorite Star Under 35? PEOPLE.com and the People’s Choice Awards are counting your votes! Click here to vote now!

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• 2005: Paula finally ends her battle with chronic pain

Source:www.People.com

Paula Goodspeed - Proud Mary!
by Mr-Tee
Former American Idol contestant Paula Goodspeed, whose car was found outside Paula Abdul’s house with a body inside, expressed great admiration for Abdul at the Season 5 audition.

“I really like Paula Abdul a lot. She’s really cool,” said Goodspeed when asked about her inspiration during the Idol audition process. “I’m a really big fan, and I made life-sized drawings of Paula. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid, and my first drawing was of Paula Abdul.”

Goodspeed, dressed in shades of pink for her audition, sang “Proud Mary” before Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell - but did not make it to Hollywood. Her performance was panned.

“I’m sorry, Paula,” said Abdul.

“It’s not over,” said Goodspeed at the time. “I’m not going to stop singing just because you don’t like my voice.”

Source:www.People.com

Former model Terri Seymour says there will always be a special place in her heart for reality TV’s Mr. Mean.

“You know, I’ll always love Simon,” Seymour tells Britain’s Daily Mail of her ex-beau, Idol judge Simon Cowell. “When you’ve been with someone that long, you can’t help it.”

The British couple spent six years together but only revealed the split on Nov 1. Since then Cowell has sworn he has kicked the female habit.

But if he ever reconsiders, Cowell may just get to see more of Seymour.

“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for him, but it was time to move on,” she adds.

Seymour, who was once a Wheel of Fortune host and now presents for Extra, also reveals the Cowell who means the most to her - his mom.

“I’ll tell you who I’ll really miss - his mum, Julie. She’s a lovely lady, and so much fun,” says Seymour. “When we split up, she said to me, ‘You’ll always be my little girl - I adore you.’”

Source:www.People.com

Don’t expect to see Simon Cowell on Match.com anytime soon.

The snarky small-screen star - who recently announced his split from girlfriend-of-six-years Terri Seymour - has told Britain’s Daily Mirror he is giving up girls.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I don’t need a lonely hearts ad. I’m off women now.”

“Everything’s fine between me and Terri,” he said. “I’ve always been very close to all my ex-girlfriends. We’ve never fallen out - they’re like my best friends.”

Source:www.People.com

Leona Lewis had an unexpected reaction to visiting South Africa earlier this year: the desire to adopt children.

“I wanted to take home all the kids. They were so cute. All of them had been orphaned because of HIV and it was heart-rending,” the Bleeding Love singer, 23, tells Britain’s Daily Mirror. “There are so many who need help - both here and abroad - you just don’t know where to start.”

Lewis, the Simon Cowell protégé who performed at the closing finale to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, says her upbringing would make her an ideal mom for troubled children.

Meanwhile, the performer has to cope with the rigors of her upcoming world tour - and being separated from her boyfriend and childhood sweetheart, Lou Al-Chama.

“I miss him so much every time we’re apart because he is also my very best friend,” she says. “I write little letters to him, and he makes me a CD of different songs I can listen to. He’s lovely.”

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Source:www.People.com

Seemingly unable to keep things working, American Idol’s Simon Cowell and girlfriend Terri Seymour have just called it quits.

“Terri phoned Simon and finished it in September, about six weeks ago,” told Cowell’s rep, Max Clifford. “They are going to remain close friends. Simon thinks the world of Terri and that isn’t going to change. He also understands her reason for ending it.”

The couple had been together for six years. British Cowell, 48, met Terri when she was just 18, but didn’t begin dating until she interviewed him for a show in 2002.

Continuing about the split, Clifford added, “In the past Terri has said that she wants kids but that just isn’t Simon. Nobody else is involved, certainly not on Simon’s side.”

Source:www.celebrity-gossip.net

American Idol judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul are sending their condolences to onetime contestant Jennifer Hudson after the singer’s mother, brother and nephew were all found dead.

“This is a horrific tragedy and my thoughts and prayers go out to Jennifer and her entire family,” Abdul said Monday evening after news broke that police had identified the body of Hudson’s missing 7-year-old nephew, Julian King.

The boy was found in the back of an SUV three days after Hudson’s mother and brother were fatally shot in the mother’s Chicago home.

“The time I had to get to know Jennifer and forge a wonderful friendship with her while she was on Idol was very special to me, and I personally can’t imagine a greater loss for any family.”

Hudson, 27, got her start on American Idol before going on to win an Oscar for her role in Dreamgirls.

Cowell also sent a heartfelt message to Hudson, tells Extra, “I was horrified when I heard the news. This is an appalling tragedy. My thoughts right now are with Jennifer, and her family.”

Source:www.People.com

Il Divo, the operatic pop vocal group created by Simon Cowell, will release its fifth album, The Promise, on Nov. 18 - and PEOPLE has the exclusive first-listen of one of the album’s Spanish tracks, “Hallelujah.” (The album is a mix of Spanish, Italian and English songs).

Listen to the song here:

The band - consisting of multinational musical hotties David Miller (American), Sebastien Izambard (French), Urs Bühler (Swiss) and Carlos Marin (Spanish) - will perform another track, “Amazing Grace,” on The Oprah Winfrey Show Friday. The group will also soon announce plans for a 2009 tour.

The group has sold 22 million albums worldwide. So not surprisingly, an unabashed Cowell, who signed the group to his Syco record label, said: “Il Divo now is probably one of the most successful groups in the world.”

Source:www.People.com

It’s a win-win situation for American Idol: Tuesday’s episode drew a still-staggering 34.8 million viewers (down only slightly from last week’s 35.5 million for the season premiere), and the show has a clear-cut victor - if TV writers from The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly are to be believed.

She is 17-year-old Paris Bennett of Fayetteville, Ga., and she’s been called “adorable” by the New York Post. Meanwhile, Bennett’s set of pipes that is causing hats to be tossed into the air, even from the usually critical judge Simon Cowell.

“Where have you been hiding?” Cowell asked Bennett on the air after her rendition of the Dixie Chicks’ “Cowboy Take Me Away” sent tingles through the audience. Judge Paula Abdul requested a second song, and Bennett again wowed the crowd, this time with a Billie Holiday number.

“There aren’t words to express how we feel blessed in your presence,” Abdul said afterwards.

The praise for Bennett is extremely far-reaching. Her great-grandparents’ local newspaper, the Rockford Register Star in Illinois, is justifiably proud of her - pointing out that this great-granddaughter of Pastor Perry and Shirley Bennett is the daughter of Rockford’s own Shayne Patterson and the granddaughter of Grammy Award-winning singer Ann Nesby-Lee, of the Sounds of Blackness.

If Bennett can continue to ride this wave, expect the family to be in the live audience for the finale.

More on this story

• All the latest Idol news
• Idol: Where Are They Now?