New 4th Judge on Idol Revealed

[Shawn]

So Ellen Degeneres announced today on her show that she's Fox's choice for the new fourth judge on the reality singing competition. I love her and watch her all the time, but she is not a good choice. In fact, the whole four judge panel was a big flop last year IMO. They should have never had Kara on at all. Then maybe Cooky Paula would still be on.

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/09/09/ellen-degeneres-joins-american-idol/

[Soapsuds]

Are you serious??? WTF does Ellen know about music talent?? This is bad.....I like Ellen but NOT on Idol....

[Shawn]

^Exactly!

Have Cyndi, Pat, Reba, Garth, ANYONE who has the music credentials step in. NOT a comic, as amazing as she is.

[All My Shadows]

Geez...I can't stand Ellen as it is, but now as a judge on AI? How could she possibly help the contestants?

[Jonathan]

I agree with you guys. If anything, she would be a better fit as host of the show rather than a judge. However, the show needed to hire someone who was a complete 180 from Paula; they couldn't simply hire a former chart topper like Debbie Gibson or a more recent pop star like Christina Aguilera because there would be too many comparisons to Paula.

This hiring sort of reminds me of when Rosie was hired to moderate The View. She didn't have a journalism background like Meredith, but Rosie brings in viewers and buzz.

In the short term, I think it's a good hire. But I worry that there are just way too many big personalities on this show like Simon, Ryan, and now Ellen. Not that Paula wasn't a big name, but she was just one part of a unique ensemble. I feel that Ellen is big enough to have her own show (which of course she does) so sharing the spotlight with the rest of the group is going to be tough.

It's going to be a season where contestants are going to take a backseat to the judges, unfortunately.

[Cheap21]

you dont need to know about music talent to tell if someone sucks or not. Now if she became a judge on Dancing With the Stars, then I think that would be a bigger issue, but I think almost any star could be a judge on AI. Judging singing doesnt require any special training or having being in the business