Kara also said she missed Paula Abul, but was excited when talk show host Ellen DeGeneres joined the show.  “I missed her. She was so nurturing,” she says of Paula. “I wouldn’t say I have the maternal instinct that she had, though. I’m a little bit more New York, a little more hard-edge.”

When asked if she’s sad about Simon leaving, Kara says, “I have no idea. All I can say is the guy can do things not many folks can get away with, and people like when someone is true to himself.”  She’s also incredibly happy about Ellen joining the show (”I was like, ‘Rock on!’”)… “The thing with Ellen, I don’t think everybody understands is that she’s a huge music lover. That’s what you need to be on Idol,” she added.

Check out the full interview over at Maxim.com.

Kara, had nicer things to say about the musical bonafides of Idol newcomer Ellen DeGeneres. “Ellen brings a sense of humor, of course, but also I think she knows more about music than we think she does,” she explained. “She had a really good handle on whether a contestant had potential,” … “She knew that something was off in the vocals or in their performance…I thought she delivered the message with kindness but also had criticism in there…she did an incredible job for her first time there.” DioGuardi added

With his self-titled debut album hitting stores March 2, Jason Derülo admits that he owes a big thank you to “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi. Derülo isn’t some “Idol” reject who got advice from DioGuardi during audition rounds of the show; his relationship with the hitmaking songwriter actually goes a bit more personal than that.

“Kara DioGuardi is my baby mama,” he joked to MTV News about the singer/songwriter, who moonlights as Warner Bros. Records senior vice president of A&R. “Nah! She took a part in kind of discovering me. [Producer] J.R. Rotem brought me to her, and they put the deal together. She’s been there through this entire process.”

Record execs can be very meddlesome in the creative process, but Derülo said DioGuardi is very nurturing. “She’s never once tried to butt in, ’cause she’s an amazing songwriter,” he said. “She’s never tried to butt in or change me at all. She’s trusting me to take the reins on this whole thing.”

DioGuardi might not be intruding, but it is her job to dole out advice to musicians. Derülo said her advice for him is much different than the advice she gives out on “Idol.”

“Giving advice to me and giving advice to someone who’s really, really new at this [is different],” he said. “I mean, I’ve been doing this my whole life, and I have a songwriting background. The advice she gives me is much different. She’s the same sweetheart behind the scenes as she is on Idol.”

Kara was also quick to dismiss rumors of any on-set tension between Ellen and fellow judge Simon Cowell. “I think you have to take any rumor you hear about ‘American Idol’ with a grain of salt — they’re usually not true,” she said. “Last year it was Kara and Paula [Abdul] fighting, hating each other, Kara sits in the corner. These things are just ridiculous. We’re all there to do one thing and that’s to find the greatest contestant, the greatest ‘American Idol’ winner we can find.”

The Ellen/Simon contretemps wasn’t the only rumor DioGuardi responded to during the call. She also took a whack at reports that Howard Stern might be replacing Cowell at the judges’ table when he leaves the show at the end of the current season. “I don’t think he has musical background or any kind of music anything,” she said of Stern, clearly unhappy with the possibility. “If you’re going to replace Simon, you have to have that background, you have to be somebody who knows about signing great artists and being a part of their career from the very beginning to the very end.

And then there’s perhaps the most talked about element of Tuesday night’s show: the new VitaminWater cups that replaced the long-established Coke cups on the judges’ table. What’s going on? Before being sure to point out that Coca-Cola owns VitaminWater, Kara gave the new cups a sort of Hollywood Week golden ticket.

“They were kind of colorful, different,” she laughed. “Everything’s always changing on the show. I kind of just drink from the cup and assume there isn’t poison in it.”

Kara declined to compare Ellen with her predecessor, Paula Abdul. “They’re completely different,” she said, “and they both bring something really valuable to the table.” She did, however, think that Andrew Garcia’s re-interpretation of Paula’s hit Straight Up was “genius.”

As a rule, Kara opted not to comment on specific contestants that weren’t shown during last night’s first Hollywood show. She did say, however, that she was disappointed by one male contestant, who showed more of a country orientation during his audition then decided to go a completely different direction in Hollywood. (She didn’t name the singer or say how far he progressed in Hollywood.)

She was also pleased to hear two of her songs sung last night — Didi Benami’s Terrified and Mary Powers’ Sober. “I was absolutely shocked,” she said of Didi’s rendition. “She showed that she had a great range and a sensitivity when she sings. I was pretty impressed by her.”

One difference she notices this year, perhaps a response to Adam Lambert and Kris Allen’s performances last season: “People were interpreting songs from the get-go, in audition week. … They were taking some risks, and I like that.”

Asked about rumors of tension on the set between Ellen DeGeneres and Simon Cowell, kara said: “You need to take any rumor you hear about American Idol with a rain of salt. They’re usually not true.”

Kara also addressed the Howard Stern buzz, and she didn’t seem favorably inclined to the possibility of having him as a judge. “I don’t think he has a musical background,” she said. “If you’re going to replace Simon, you have to have that background. You have to be somebody who knows about signing great artists and being a part of their career from the very beginning to the very end, like he’s done with people like Leona Lewis.”

Kara said she’d love to see Harry Connick Jr. as a mentor for the show at some point. “I think he’d be great, especially for standards, maybe even jazz,” she said. She especially likes the way Meat Loaf brings a method-acting approach to performing. “I think he’d be fun for rock.”

She’d also love to see a girl win: “”They’re unique, they different, they have a voice. But I also think the men are very good.”

She figures it’s perfect timing since music is currently being dominated by fierce females like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. Not only do women rule the mic on Idol, they rule the judges’ panel.

DioGuardi says she’s much “more relaxed and comfortable” this year as a judge and Ellen DeGeneres is also holding her own. She finds Ellen to be good mix of “kind and critical” and adds, “She knows a lot more about music than people think.”

American Idol airs every Tuesdays and Wednesdays on FOX.

Kara also got tagged as the person producers brought on to push Paula Abdul out. “The fact that they brought me back means somebody saw something good,” she says the show can go on without Simon Cowell, who is leaving after this season. “It would never be the same without him,” says DioGuardi, who will also be judging a Folgers coffee-jingle contest (www.bestpartofwakinup.com.). “It’s a powerful show. It’s about helping people realize their dreams.”

And what did she have to say about Idol host and E! man Ryan Seacrest jumping into Cowell’s chair? “I don’t see Ryan giving up what he’s currently doing on Idol,” DioGuardi said. “What he’s doing now works for him perfectly…I have no idea who will or who should replace Simon.”

Kara opted not to speculate on Cowell’s replacement.

American Idol debut this week to strong ratings. This is the final season with iconic host Simon Cowell. Kara ‘impressed’ with new Idol judge

Kara has praised the show’s new judge Ellen DeGeneres, saying that she is “warm and funny”. Speaking to Self, Dioguardi said: “Ellen’s been great, she’s really a natural judge.” “She is warm and funny and critical when she needs to be and knows when the music’s not right and something’s wrong. I’m really impressed by her.”

With a tougher image and new confidence, American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi is ready to take on a new season of contestants. The 39-year-old songwriter dishes on sharing the judges table with Ellen DeGeneres and who she thinks should replace Simon Cowell next year. DioGuardi is also teaming up with another American staple, Folgers, to invite hopefuls to create their own version of the iconic “The Best Part of Wakin’ Up” jingle.

From one judges table to the next.
“We’re asking people to submit their take on the classic Folgers jingle and the prize is $25,000. The jingle has been around for 25 years, so for people to be able to make it their own, they really need to find something inspirational and truthful to pour into their music. I’m excited to be a judge and hear first-hand what America composes.”

Going from behind-the-scenes to the Idol spotlight.
“It’s been crazy! In my lifetime I never imagined doing a photo shoot or being on the cover of Billboard magazine when I worked there as an assistant. It’s been life-changing, and I feel lucky to have been picked to be on this incredible show and to be a part of finding talent and changing lives.”

Escaping through music.
“Music helps heal me in so many ways and saved me from my own personal demons. I do believe it has that power for you to go and express what you’re feeling. It’s very healing and therapeutic.”

Can Idol succeed without Simon?
“I think that everybody loves the show because of what it stands for. It enables people who would never have the opportunity to have a shot at their dream. I think that’s really powerful. People also fall in love with the contestants and their stories and the fact that you want to root for them every week. I don’t see that changing. I don’t see people not wanting to see that next year. And even Simon has said that he believes the show will go on to be successful. Of course we’ll miss him. He’s a great judge. I mean, he’s so unique and he says things in a way that I couldn’t even imagine. I love his intonations and the way he rolls his eyes. I mean, it’s hilarious. But at the same time, the show will stand on its own.”

Welcoming Ellen DeGeneres to the judges table.
“I’m very impressed with her. I think she is a natural judge. She knows when someone steps on that stage whether they are a star. She can be warm and funny, but she can also be critical and tell you that you should have done more with the melody or your guitar seemed off. She knows a lot more about music than people think. I think the combination of all sides of her is going to be tremendous. It’s been a natural fit.”

How Season 9 contestants are measuring up so far.
“The women are very strong this year, whereas last year there wasn’t a contingency of women that were really great singers. This year there’s a lot of them. People have unique stories, unique ways of interpreting their songs so far, and that’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for someone that just doesn’t deliver the same version that I’ve heard a million times, but takes it up a few notches and every week up the ante and grows each week. It doesn’t matter to me that you start out amazing. It matters to me that you grow every week because that’s what artists do.”

On criticisms that American Idol winners become successful without really paying their dues.
“Since the music industry has become smaller and budgets have been cut, people don’t scout the way they used to. So this show is a great tool to help find people you can’t get to. While Idol can give you a platform and a built-in audience, for you to be huge, you need to have a great song and you need to break within the music industry, which means you start competing with Beyonce and Gaga. So I don’t really believe in the overnight sensation thing. I mean, Kelly Clarkson has had many, many hits to sell those many records. And all those people aren’t Idol fans.”

Lessons learned after her first year as a judge.
“To let go and be myself more and not be so scared of the camera and fearful that I would say the wrong thing. I think that I just have to be more me. I think I held back at times because I wanted to be liked.”

Who could fill Simon’s seat next year?
“There are so many judges that I think would bring a lot to the table and I do believe that we had a bunch of people this year during the auditions who brought their own take. I would always love to see Prince. I think he could be great. I think Paul McCartney could be great. There’s talk about Elton John being the replacement, that could be really interesting. There are a lot of people out there that have been really successful in the music industry that I think could give these kids a lot of good advice.”

]]> http://kara-dioguardi.us/kara-okay-being-hated/feed/ http://kara-dioguardi.us/kara-plans-new-look-for-idol/ http://kara-dioguardi.us/kara-plans-new-look-for-idol/#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:46:42 +0000 Pisces1 http://kara-dioguardi.us/kara-plans-new-look-for-idol/ Kara revealed that she will try out a new look on this season of American Idol. The judge explained that she often didn’t like the way she was styled on last year’s show. Speaking to the New York Post, she said: “I’m not sure I liked all my hairstyles or my make-up or my clothes - I’d look at it and go, ‘Oh my God’. I’m still experimenting and still getting it together, because I’d say the way I look in real life is not the way I look on the show.

“Part of it is that I’m somebody who doesn’t wear a lot of make-up or do a lot with my hair… so it was hard to see myself all dolled up. I’m still making changes. I’m definitely trying to go more to a natural style, more rock-glam - just something that feels more like me.

“At times it was funny to see me with that curly hair and [wearing] a pretty dress. When I look at myself, I’d like not to have hair on the top of the ceiling.” However, DioGuardi added that she doesn’t want her style to be the focus of the show. “I’m certainly not making a big deal out of it,” she said. “It can’t be about hair and make-up - it’s about the kids.”

American Idol continues next Tuesday on Fox.