Kara DioGuardi has nothing but praise for the casting of Ellen DeGeneres as the 4th judge for the upcoming season of American Idol.
She says:
"I think it's a genius decision. I wish I had thought of it. I know a little bit about Ellen from watching her show and I would says she would probably be somebody who would be fair in her criticism and will try to be as supportive as she possibly could. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."
Translation - "I think she's the exact opposite of Paula Abdul and that is a great thing!"
Kara continues:
"[Ellen will get along with everyone] 100 percent. I was on her show once and she's lovely, generous, very kind. I think it's going to be great."
Could that be a jab at the infamous arguments between Paula and everybody else?
When asked where Ellen will be sitting on the panel, Kara oh-so-sweetly says, "Hopefully, next to me."
In an attempt to add some much needed humor into the show, the producers of VH1 Divas thought it would be funny to havePaula Abdul come out dressed as the famed, dancing talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres, that recently filled her vacant seat at the Idol judging table.
This is what happens when you give Abdrool a wig, a couple of drinks, and some time to kill on live television.
Watch as she only embarrasses herself and offers some advice to Ellen (above).
Jen Aniston appeared on Ellen Wednesday morning, and after discussing's Maniston's singing role in the upcoming The Goree Girls, Ellen made a special request!
Degeneres pleaded for Maniston to sing!!!
Check out the video above (around the 1:00 mark) to hear Maniston warble through I've Got a Crush on You.
Looks like American Idol "stole" Ellen DeGeneres from So You Think You Can Dance. But that's ok, because now SYTYCD is taking Paula Abdul!
Sorta.
At the Creative Arts Emmys this weekend, judge and executive producer of SYTYCD, Nigel Lythgoe, told reporters that the Idol folks had stolen Ellen from their show and now he was going to do the same, by having Paula on his show in the future.
Uh, Nigel, not to split hairs, but you can't really steal something when they gave it up in the first place. Just saying.
All joking aside, even though Ellen was a smash on her guest judge appearance on SYTYCD this season, Nigel "prefers" Paula, but has yet to announce when and if she is confirmed to be on the show.
Ah, nice to know you're still filled with a lot hot air Nigel.
Okay, criminal is a not really what we'd call her. She just stole some music, kinda, sorta,…maybe. Depends on who you ask.
If you ask some of the world's largest music recording studios, the answer would be yes as they have all filed a joint suit against her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, for using their music without licensing rights.
So we guess it's really not so much Ellen DeGeneres who's in trouble, though she is the one dancing to all the illegal beats and it is her show.
The suit was filed on Wednesday and the plaintiffs, which include Arista Music, Atlantic Recording Corp., Capitol Records, Motown Record Company, Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin Records America and Warner Bros. Records, claim the show has used copyrighted music without permission, including "recordings by virtually every major current artist of popular music."
When asked about why they never sought out licenses to use the songs, reps for Telepictures Productions explained they didn't "roll that way."
But the record companies are not amused, stating, "As sophisticated consumers of music, Defendants knew full well that, regardless of the way they rolled, under the Copyright Act, and under state law for the pre-1972 recordings, they needed a license to use the sound recordings lawfully."
Reps for the show insist that they have been attempting to strike a deal with "amicable and reasonable terms."
Translation - they don't want to pony up millions of dollars.
We don't see what the big deal is. A little exposure never hurt nobody and Ellen's show is a great platform.
Everyone has an opinion on the news that Ellen DeGeneres is the new judge replacing Miz Paula Abdul on American Idol. Of course, no one is more vocal than the industry itself, so we thought we'd take a looksie at what some people are saying around Hollywood.
First, it's best to hear what the people who have to actually work with her think, like Randy Jackson, who was quoted saying:
"[Ellen] can be the voice of the people among us. I think between me, Simon and Kara [DioGuardi], there's enough musical experts to go around right there."
Then, of course, there are her comrades in the reality TV show judge game, like Sharon Osbourne, who exclaimed:
"She will be a breath of fresh air on that show, a complete breath of fresh air. It's new blood. And [American Idol] needed something new to happen."
Not everyone is as thrilled though. Some critics are confused over the choice and uncertain of it's success, like James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter, who wrote:
"Signing DeGeneres is a good get for Fox … and an odd choice for 'Idol.' Being an 'Idol' judge means taking quite seriously a show that is, in some respects, overstuffed and absurd. It's tough to predict how DeGeneres' humor will mesh with that."
And Michael Slezak from Entertainment Weekly wrote:
"I can’t shake the deep fear that American Idol is adding cream puff to the menu when we really need some bitter lemon."
But of course, there really is only one opinion that matters…OURS! And we say:
"Whosever idea this was deserves a HUGE pay raise! Inspired choice."
With the exciting news breaking yesterday that Ellen DeGeneres is going to be the 4th judge on the next season of American Idol, Paula Abdulis said to be "very upset" at being permanently replaced.
A source close to Fox says that Paula, like Ellen, was surprised by the news because she had no warning of the announcement and found out the same time as the public.
Supposedly Paula held out some hope that a last-minute deal could have been worked out for her return to Idol, but it's become quite clear that Fox is moving in a different direction.
As previously reported, Ellen DeGeneres will be replacing Paula Abdul as American Idol judge, so it seems apropos that the funnywoman found time to call her new costar, Ryan Seacrest on Thursday to chat On Air.
Here are some HIGHlights:
On her qualifications for being a judge:
"The people are the ones that choose the American Idol. Ultimately it doesn't come down to some expert in the music industry, it comes down to everybody at home that says 'that's the person I relate to, that's the person that I'm going to buy music from'."
On her judging style:
"I'm not going to be mean, I hate when Simon [Cowell] is that mean. You can be constructive and criticize somebody that's helpful instead of mean spirited."
On Paula Abdul's departure:
"I hope Paula [Abdul] is okay with it. I don't want anybody to think I took Paula's job away. I feel like she was gone and then everybody was looking for somebody else, then I stepped in. I certainly don't want to be that person that is the evil taking Paula's job away."
Paula isn't even paying attention to all the press!
