"The Reason Idol Chose Ellen "

Paula who ?In a bold move , Fox and the producers of America Idol completely changed the conversation about the upcoming season by naming Ellen DeGeneres as the show's fourth judge. "It was serendipity,"Mike Darnell, the Fox executive who oversees Idol, tells TV Guide Magazine. After Paula Abdul announced she was leaving, DeGeneres was one of the first names discussed when the network and producers met about what to do next. Ellen had the contestants on her show all the time,says Darnell. She's an avid fan and she loves music. She's one of the country's best loved personalities. We decided to make her one of our first calls. She was exuberant about it.
Once DeGeneres expressed interest in the offer, the deal came together in an amazingly fast two weeks.There was no interal research done to discern whether the audience would except her. You don't need to go throufg any awareness studies to know she's enormously popular, Darnell says. We talked to all the judges about it. They all loved it. If we hadn't found someone terrific, we might not have had a fourth judge.
By going to a big star, Fox has put to rest any possibility of abdul returning.(Paula put out a statement calling DeGeneres, a wildly funny and talented" and wished her luck.) The move has stirred new dicussion about what DeGeneres might add to the show'a chemistry. She has said she plans to stake her groung with a fan's point of view and to counter-balance Simon Cowell, who she believes can get too mean in his citiques. Tom Bergman, host of ABC's reality juggernaut "Dancing With the Stars, question whether DeGeneres was the right fit for the show.:My first recation was "REALLY?" he tells TV Guide Magazine. I love Ellen, and American Idol is a behemoth of a show, but I don't know what her musical expertise is compared to, now Paula, I happen to like the chemistry of Paula, Randy Jackson and Simon. But I'll be watching along with the rest of America to see how it plays out.
Privately, Fox executives believe DeGeneres will free Kara DioGuardi, the songwriter added to the judge's panel last year, to play up her knowledge. DioGuardi said in a radio interview that she is looking forward to DeGeneres arrival. I think ultimately, it's going to be great new energy, DioGuardi said , GeGeneres , who signed a multi-year contract, also gives the show another big name in case Simon decides not to extend his deal beyond this up-coming season. But even with DeGeneres, American Idol will be fighting rating gravity as it enter it's nineth season. Since season 5 it's been going down, says Brad Adgate, an analyst for the media-buying firm Horizon. I don't see that changing too much. I think this will stem the erosion that could have happened over the lost of Paula. But one positive sign people is talking about the show, even ththough it's seasom premiere is three months away."It will only be good for us"says one Fox insider. It's keeping us on top of everyone's mind.
My take on this: It's like playing a cat and mouse game.....to see if the cat can catch the mouse before he reach the hole. It's a wait and see game to be played out in the next few months, so stay tuned , we all may be in for a nice surprise.More news when it becomes available.
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