Ellen!
In a surprise announcement, Ellen DeGeneres and Fox broke the news that she would be replacing Paula Abdul on the American Idol panel for the ninth season.
“I have a big announcement to make. No one knows this. I just finally got the OK … just moments ago to announce this to you today…I am going to be the new judge on ‘American Idol,’” said DeGeneres in a taping of her talk show today.
DeGeneres, who was a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, admitted that she has no musical background but would approach it with a “producer’s mind” and would judge based on what she would want to buy as opposed to on a technical level. ”Hopefully, I’m the people’s point of view because I’m just like you,” she said.
No doubt Ellen DeGeneres will keep things comedic as a judge, but I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels like she is an odd choice of judge. I was looking forward to someone who is a musical legend, but I can also think of worse people to take that middle chair.
What do you think? Will Ellen’s position help or hurt Idol?
I’m super excited about this announcement! While Ellen may not have the musical background that we’ve come to expect from Idol judges, she will definitely bring the funny. Not to mention that she has tons of experience interviewing famous rock stars and musicians on her show. I’m looking forward to seeing her as a judge. I wonder if she’ll be incorporating her love of dance?
I think she will be fun and will definitely be encouraging. But I think it’s more of a shock than anything, because she is the last person you would expect to replace Paula. It’s just something to get used to I guess.