Ellen Degeneres is the New American Idol Judge

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read this news! What? Ellen is replacing Paula Abdul on Idol? I thought it was a joke at first.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ellen. I think she's hilarious. But what experience does she have in the music industry? What expertise could she possibly bring to the show? Maybe the producers are just trying to even out the whole "package" and industry talk of new judge Kara Dioguardi by bringing in someone who has no clue about that shit. Ellen, I guess, is supposed to be the token judge who only listens to music for music sake and doesn't know or care about the technical or the industry standards. She'll just say the same kind of things that those of us listening at home think and feel about the performers. I guess.

When Ellen was a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance this past season, I thought she was funny, sure, but it was obvious that she didn't really know how to critique them as dancers. Critiquing music will probably be easier for her since knowing what to listen for and look for in a singer is sometimes more familiar to the general pop. What I'm afraid of, though, is her being long-winded in an attempt to get a good laugh. I'm afraid she'll be the focus as the performer and take the spotlight off the singers. I will say this, though. Ellen should be a positive voice to replace the always positive Paula. But can you ever really replace Paula? She was an original and she will be missed. Looks like it is time for a new era in American Idol.