Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres
American Idol comes back in January, and judge Kara DioGuardi says there is some important prep work necessary before Season 9 starts: bonding time!
DioGuardi said she plans on spending some quality time with...
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Ellen DeGeneres
American Idol's Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi are both excited to welcome Ellen DeGeneres to the judges' table this season.
Check out photos of the Idol judges
"We're all friends with Ellen, and Ryan [Seacrest] and I are pretty close with her. She's just mad cool," Jackson told People. Jackson also said the talk show host/funnywoman is right to suggest that she will be the ...
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Kara DioGuardi
Kara DioGuardi will be back at the judges' table for American Idol's ninth season.
"We are so happy to welcome back Kara for her second season with Idol," creator/executive producer Simon Fuller said in a statement in Fox's official announcement on Monday. "She is a breath of fresh air, and her passion for music and her understanding of talent is invaluable. This show is all about discovering new talent, and Kara's championing of Adam Lambert is proof positive of her great instinct."
Check out photos of DioGuardi on Idol
The Grammy-nominated songwriter's contract renewal follows host Ryan Seacrest's new $45 million deal and reports of Simon Cowell's $100 million-plus payday. Fox did not release details of DioGuardi's deal.
Fellow judge Paula Abdul, however, still ...
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Kara DioGuardi with Mike McCuddy
American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi married teacher-turned-general contractor Mike McCuddy on Sunday afternoon.
The couple, who got engaged on December 8 while vacationing in Mexico, exchanged vows in front of about 30 guests at the United Methodist Church in Prospect, Maine.
Read about other celebrity weddings
"What was most unbelievable about the experience was when I looked out at the church and saw all these people that were so important to me and Mike," DioGuardi told ...
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Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest has every confidence that both Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi will ink new deals to continue on as judges for Season 9.
"I do. I don't have any reason to believe otherwise," Seacrest told TVGuide.com on Thursday.
After all, is it even really Idol without unpredictable Paula? "For me, no," Seacrest said. "I love having Paula on the show. She has become a very good friend."
In recent weeks, Abdul has been juggling exploratory meetings about headlining a Las Vegas show ...
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Paula Abdul on Late Show with David Letterman
Paula Abdul admits that any appearance of indifference about continuing with American Idol is largely a negotiating tactic, as she and the Fox hit ponder a new deal.
On Thursday's Late Show, David Letterman asked Abdul why she's planning to exit Idol now that her contract is up, calling such a decision a "mistake." Abdul countered ...
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Kara DioGuardi
Kara DioGuardi hopes to be an idol — or better yet, an angel — for dogs.
The American Idol judge is the newest face of PETA's Angels for Animals campaign. She posed with ...
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Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul
Simon Cowell has confirmed that all four Idol judges will return next season.
"I think certainly next year everyone's going to be back," he told Ellen DeGeneres during a pre-taped Tuesday appearance on her show ("Yeah, absolutely," he added.) Read on to see how Simon feels about having four judges...
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Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson, American Idol
Nearly 60 percent of TVGuide.com voters want American Idol to dump Kara DioGaurdi from the judges' table.
Though the newcomer has brought some credible music industry insight to the panel, 59 percent of TVGuide.com voters would rather the show not renew DioGuardi's one-season contract, arguing that four judges are too many.
Among all the changes made to Idol this season, the one that has been the most hotly debated is DioGuardi's addition. Earlier this season, the judges' commentary forced Idol to run eight minutes long, interrupting Fringe and upsetting millions of DVR viewers. A week later, each contestant was only critiqued by two judges instead of the entire panel.
Six percent of voters...
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Kara DioGuardio alongside fellow American Idol judge Randy Jackson
Former American Idol boss Nigel Lythgoe says that while Kara DioGuardi is "very good" in her capacity alongside Simon, Randy and Paula, as a matter of principle he is "not a fourth judge fan."
"What we've seen is that four judges tend to take away time from the program, which was always going to be the problem," he explained during a visit to TVGuide.com.
Lythgoe's comments about Idol's addition of a judge come on the heels of DioGuardi revealing to ET that she only was signed to a one-season deal ...
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