Fourth `Idol' judge a straight-shooting hitmaker

By ERIN CARLSON – 49 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Scooching in between Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson sounds intimidating, if not a little scary.

But Kara DioGuardi, the newly-installed fourth judge on "American Idol," is confident she'll find her niche within the bickering, ratings-tested judges' panel where the line between love and hate is blurred with every critique.

"I'm just gonna speak to Simon the way I speak to everybody," DioGuardi told reporters during a teleconference Monday. "I'm just gonna have my opinion, be honest and I don't foresee any problems. I'm really excited about this, and up for the challenge."

The Grammy-nominated songwriter will make her debut when the eighth season of "Idol" premieres in January, the Fox network said Monday.

"It's really flattering too, you know, to think that (`Idol') even thought about me," she said. "I mean, when I got the call, I thought they were calling the wrong person. So I'm the new kid on the block, and I'm hoping everyone's gonna go easy on me — and that I bring a lot to the table."

It's not yet clear how ties will be broken in the audition process — in past seasons, two out of three judges had to agree to advance aspiring pop stars to the Hollywood round. And something will have to give during the telecast that barely has enough time to fit in three judges' opinions.

DioGuardi, now the youngest "Idol" judge at 37, said she leads a "low-key" life. In that case, she'd do well to prepare for the instant celebrity that comes with appearing on the most popular — and lucrative — reality show on television.

Which begs the question: Who IS Kara DioGuardi?

"I'm maybe not a household name, but people know of me in the industry," said DioGuardi, who co-owns the Los-Angeles based company Arthouse Entertainment, which is now producing music by recent "Idol" runner-up David Archuleta.

DioGuardio's songs have been recorded by Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood and Pink, among others. Her recent Top 40 hits include Stefani's "Rich Girl," Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man," Clarkson's "Walk Away" and Dion's "Taking Chances."

In 2000, the New York-born songwriter and longtime friend Abdul co-wrote the dance tune "Spinning Around" for Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue.

Her TV experience includes appearing a judge on the short-lived ABC reality series "The One: Making a Music Star" in 2006.

DioGuardi begins her "Idol" journey Tuesday during auditions in New York. It will be the judges' first time together in one room; DioGuardi said she only just met host/ringleader Ryan Seacrest on Monday morning.

"You'll have to see if there are fireworks tomorrow," she cooed in her smoky voice.

Which begs another question: Why mess with chemistry that's working?

"We are turning the heat up on `Idol' this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges' table," said creator and executive producer Simon Fuller in a statement. "She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America's most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show."

Executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz said a fourth judge isn't a new idea.

"We had originally intended for `American Idol' to have four judges," she said. "We've seen from our international series that having a fourth judge creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers."

DioGuardi plans to be a straight shooter. She wants to help contestants succeed, but she will be harsh when need be.

"I'd say I'm honest," she said. "I'd say I believe in what I believe in, and I'm willing to fight for it. And I'm pretty feisty."

As an "Idol" viewer, she said she's disagreed with each judge at one point — although admits that Cowell's criticism is generally "spot on." Some of her favorite past contestants were Clarkson and season-seven finalist Brooke White.

She hopes to find the The Next Big Thing.

"What makes an artist is somebody who's unique," she said. "That when their song comes on the radio, I know exactly who it is. ... It's not about vocal acrobatics."

Let the drama begin.

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Were people clamoring for a fourth judge? I don't understand the need for this.

^Maybe the lower ratings last season prompted this. I wouldn't mind if they just replaced Randy and Paula. Odd they would choose someone no one outside of the industry knows instead of a singer or musician.

this will be "down" fall, Idol dont need this, if not broke dont fix it!

Let's predict the new judge's catch phrase...

We can only hope she has something intelligent to say to balance out Randy and Paula.

I didn't know Idol was in need of a Cousin Oliver.

Huh?

So it use to be 2 out o 3 votes goes to Hollywood...

Will it be 3 out of 4? or 2 out of 4?

Lame.

Didn't they have a fourth judge (Season 2 or 3) that sucked so bad that they fired her and used clever editing to hide her existence on the show?

I think this is a transition year and Randy (please!) and/or Paula will leave next year. Probably Paula.

Bring back Brian Dunkleman!

No idea who this judge is.

If they really wanted to make the show interesting, they'd hire John Lydon.

I never understood the need for the show in general. It's just another step on the way to our idiocracy.

But it is broken. It's gotten so incredibly boring they have to try something new.

Kara DioGuardi is the the chick on the left.

Ratings were still huge, but yes they slipped a bit. I'm not sure a new judge will help. Maybe it is time to replace Abdul and/or Jackson, instead of just adding to the mix.

That woman looks like the love child of Holly Hunter and Kristen Chenowith.

Also, I like how the article says she "wrote" Rich Girl for Gwen Stefani. Must have been quite taxing to grab a song from Fiddler on the Roof and do a search/replace to convert "man" to "girl".

That's what I was going to bring up. Worked out so well last time that we never even saw who she was.

They were planning on hiring Angie Martinez as a fourth judge for season 2 but she quit after the first few rounds of auditions because she couldn't handle crushing people's dreams. Or so she said...

+1 I think last season was my last attempt at watching it. I'll at least do auditions but will likely bow out once they get to LA.

Now I have to ff even longer to get to simon's comments.

Hopefully the audience is finally getting tired of this show.

Every time I read the thread title, I think "...with upper-management potential written all over him".

(I have seen Office Space too many times!)

Hoping this new judge is the first step for getting rid of Paula and/or Randy. Really those 2 together make maybe 1 judge so an addition to the panel should make it finally seem like there are 3 judges.

She's 37, looks like she's perky, and seems to have solid pop music credentials.

Yeah, it does sort of look like they're getting ready to shitcan Paula.