Ellen Makes Idol Debut

Last night, comedian Ellen Degeneres took her spot as the new judge on American Idol. 

“I think that Ellen brings such humor of course, but she knows more about music than you think she does,” said fellow judge Kara DioGuardi. ”I think she was critical and constructive. When I was sitting next to her I thought she had a really good handle on whether a conestant had really good potential, if they had star quality, if something was off in their performance.”

With Paula Abdul's departure and Simon Cowell's announcement that this will be his last season, it's yet to be seen how much longer Idol can remain television's top show.  Replacing a washed up pop star on the judging panel with a comedian seemed like a risky move, but if anyone can do it, Degeneres can.  She very well might be the person to save Idol from the oncoming onslaught that will be X Factor.

But who will fill Cowell's spot?

“To replace Simon,” DioGuardi said, “It has to be someone who knows about signing good artists and being there for their career from the very beginning. That’s a precursor. Or them being artist themselves.”