The great abominable machine of American Idol is mere days away from once more setting the network brush ablaze with its up and coming talents, its curmudgeonly Brit, its spritely asexual host, and the tasty bowl of crazy that is Paula Abdul. One new ingredient to the ratings monster this season is Kara DioGuardi. The songwriter and sometimes song-singer has been brought on as Idol’s fourth judge this season, a perch never before held by anyone in a permanent fashion. Kara held a conference call for the press today, in which she discussed the new season of Idol and what we can all expect to see from her in the coming months.
American Idol premieres on FOX next Tuesday, January 13 at 8pm.
Kara was late for the call, but apologized profusely. Kara says that the guys do indeed seem to have the edge this year, and that there’s a certain unique-ness to a number of the guys this season. She’s confident that at least five men in the competition are great. Kara says that this year there was a lot of soul influence, especially with the guys.
The two vs. two thing put a lot of pressure on Kara, in that a lot of times she knew which way Simon would swing, and so she had to make the tie-breaking decisions. Kara said that often, a person was on the fence for her and she would give them the benefit of the doubt.
Kara loves it when the contestants play instruments, and she really encouraged it. She also said that a lot of times people will fall apart when they take their instruments away.
Kara and Paula have teamed up for some Girl Power at times. In the beginning, Kara wasn’t sure about everything. Now, she thinks Paula has a lot of heart, Simon is a straight-talker, harsh but usually correct and Randy is the diplomat. Kara is a combination of all of them.
Kara’s biggest mistakes were mostly her not knowing when to talk. The other judges did not give her any initiation. Kara does not have any signature lines. There’s no one judge that she agrees with most or agrees with the least.
Kara was extremely honored to get the call to be the judge, and is really excited to be a part of the American Idol enterprise. Also – she’s getting married.
Kara makes it clear that there is a huge amount of importance to be placed on second chances. If there is talent there, they should get a second chance to find it. At the beginning, not everyone has figured out how to use and cultivate that talent.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
