New Judge Selected For American Idol

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Somehow, I just don't see it. - edgarblythe

LOS ANGELES " Ellen DeGeneres is dancing her way into the fourth judge's seat on "American Idol."

Fox announced Wednesday the talk show host and comedian, who admittedly has no formal music experience, just a passion for tunes, would join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi for the ninth season. The announcement all but seals the departure of Paula Abdul, the original third judge who announced she was quitting amid a contract dispute in July.

The announcement came as a shock to many of the popular singing competition's fans, who did not expect the Emmy-winning talk show host to fill Abdul's spot. DeGeneres told her talk show audience in an episode scheduled to air Thursday that she had been "dying to tell everyone" and would not abandon her chatfest. Instead, she will have "a day job and a night job."

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@edgarblythe,

Actually, I think she could bring some fun to a very stale show.

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@Nevermind,

I read that as fans.

same story...

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She might bring some humor, but will she be taken seriously as a judge?

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it seems pretty obvious that they wanted abdul out, and they want to do everything they can to fill that seat to keep her out

to be honest, i've never watched one episode of the show, but i think she's a good choice, her fans probably already watch the show, so it's not going to be a shock to the audience, she's universally liked and popular, i see it as win win

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I rarely watch even a few minutes of the show. But I have sort of followed Ellen's career. Not that I watch her talk show - never have, never will. It just strikes me as wrong to put her in that seat.

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@edgarblythe,

I see two ways it makes sense:

1: she's going to be the kind, empathetic one, a role that Abdul usually filled (foil to Cowell)

2: it's "American Idol," not "America's Best Musician." She does seem to have some cred re: what makes someone popular.

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

I see two ways it makes sense:

1: she's going to be the kind, empathetic one, a role that Abdul usually filled (foil to Cowell)

2: it's "American Idol," not "America's Best Musician." She does seem to have some cred re: what makes someone popular.

1. and probably better at it, she'll be sober (or sane, which ever one was paula's problem) for a start

2. exactly

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But does she connect with the target audience?

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@edgarblythe,

when was the last time that paula abdul was relevant in the music biz?

who or what was randy jackson before the show?

i think she'll do fine

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@djjd62,

I agree with dj. I think she'll be fine.

I have watched her talk show, (also watch AI) and she can really connect with an audience. I'm sure the same will happen on Idol.

What cheeses me off on not only Idol, but America's Got Talent as well, is that someone can vote more than once, skewing the results.

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I like Ellen. Guess I will tune in a time or two to see if my misgivings are founded or not.

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@edgarblythe,

I always found her to be a lot of fun.

I think shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent need to be regarded as mainly entertainment, and not necessarily vehicles for finding the best talent available. As I alluded to earlier, the voting process certainly makes a mess of that. Sometimes it's more of a popularity contest than a talent one.

This year, America's Got Talent has not been too entertaining, with a lot of bogging down in contestant backgrounds and way too much drama with drumrolls.

Ellen will add a nice lighter touch to AI.

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I really only watched the 1st year, then occassionally I would watch an episode here and there, so I'm not an expert. But the last time I saw AI was when Paula thought someone sang 2 songs but they only sang 1. It was awkward and embarrassing to watch. I think that was back when all the "she's drunk" rumors started. I don't think anyone took Paula seriously. And of course, when she would tell people they were off-tune or not singing in the right "register" it was amusing since Paula can barely carry a tune herself. Yes, she had a bunch of gold records, but that wasn't really for her voice. So I don't think people will expect Ellen to be a musical expert on anything. She'll play the nice judge role like Paula, but the benefit with Ellen is she won't be drunk and she'll actually be coherent.

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I have no opinion to offer on Paula Abdul, since I never did listen to her recordings anyway.

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@edgarblythe,

They are mostly forgettable songs.

On a side note, I'm wondering what Randy Jackson gets paid, because if he gets paid more than Paula was, she had a legitimate reason to cause a stink about her salary.

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@edgarblythe,

Why don't you wait and see it before you judge?

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New Judge Selected For American Idol

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