The 4th American Idol Judge - Who is Kara DioGuardi?

Despite the fact that American Idol was the most watched show of the 07-08 season its ratings were down over the previous year.

In order to combat this they have chosen to shake things up a little. Kara DioGuardi will be doing the shaking.

By creating a fourth judge there will now be something new to watch on the insanely popular show. How will they all interact together? Will Paula Abdul have some relief, since she is no longer the sole female judge on the panel, or will her typically flighty, "pie in the sky" comments seem even more juvenile compared to thoughtful, constructive comments from the other three judges.

Kara DioGuardi, 38 is one of America's most successful song writers. Pop stars which have recorded her songs include Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Santana and Pink.

She is without a doubt qualified to judge America's next pop star especially since there is a good chance she may write a song for him/her someday.

Her addition does bring up the question of what they are going to do about a tie since the judges could very well be split down the middle. Perhaps Randy and Simon will arm wrestle to see if the contestant goes on to Hollywood. That would be a nice twist.

At this point in the year the auditions have already been recorded. I am a little surprised that nothing has leaked out yet concerning the chemistry between the four judges.

I think an exciting and interesting choice was also made when they decided to hold one of the auditions in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Not exactly an international flavor will be added but it will be interesting to see the result of an infusion of Latino influenced music.

For those of us that are hankering for a little American Idol, the eighth season debuts on January 13th. It is just a little more than a month away.

Dan Bimrose is the creator of coffeeandprozac.com a website devoted to making people think, laugh or cry. Daily Opinions, Editorials, and Stories He suggests dropping bread crumbs so that you can find your way back on a daily basis. Dan has also just unveiled his latest website tuesdaysreleases.com which provides a convenient place for people to discover the latest DVD movies which have been released at their local video store.