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'American Idol's' Kara DioGuardi on Ellen DeGeneres, Howard Stern and more
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"American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi praises Ellen DeGeneres, dismisses the Howard Stern rumors and explains the "Adam Lambert effect."On Ellen DeGeneres as a judge:
Ellen brings a sense of humor, of course, but I think she knows more about music than you think she does. She was critical at times and she gave good feedback that was constructive ... I felt like she had a good handle on whether a contestant had potential, whether they had a star quality. She knew if something was off in the vocals or in their performance. She delivered the message with kindness but also had criticism in there ... She was very funny and was critical and had heart. I was very pleased with her and it's such an honor to sit next to her.
On Howard Stern:
That's a rumor. He doesn't have any kind of musical background and if you're going to replace Simon, you have to have that background. You have to have someone who knows about signing great artists.
On the Adam Lambert effect:
I think that people were interpreting songs from the get-go in audition week. They weren't just singing them in the way they were done by the original artist and that's definitely a sign of good artists, when they do something unique with material.
On hearing her own song "Terrified" from Didi Benami:
I was absolutely shocked. It was not a song released as a single, it was a song I co-wrote with Jason Reeves put it up on my site last year. There was no way she could find the sheet music, so she found it and learned it on her own, watching that YouTube video over and over, which is pretty impressive. She did a nice interpretation and she showed a great range.
On a mentor she'd like to see:
I really like Harry Connick Jr, I think he would be great, especially for standards or jazz.
On the biggest mistake contestants made in Hollywood Week this year:
This year it's song choice. They take on something that's way too big for them for them. Or they got through the audition rounds and we praised them and then they decide to completely change when they get to Hollywood Week. There was one contestant in particular who was kind of a country singer and he decided to do something completely opposite of what he should've been doing. That and the fact that they can't fill up the stage. They can't perform, they can't project.
On wanting a female to win:
It's the women's movement in music right now. You've got Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, you've got these women at the forefront of the music industry and I think that looking at the pool of talent we have this year, it's similar to that. They're unique, they're different, they have a voice. But I also do think that the men are very good. They may not be as different as the women, but they're solid singers. I do think it's a lot easier to break women than men, in terms of their records, when the show is done.
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Comparing Kara and Paula is like comparing apples and oranges. Shrill, annoying apples to drowsy, druggy oranges. Do they expect Randy to carry the show? I'd rather see it quite while it's ahead than drag on for too long with Randy, Kara, and who knows who else.
Hi, Okay Kara about the On the Adam Lambert effect it made me feel like Adam Lambert was the only one that started it and he didn't at all. Does anybody remember David Cook did it back in season 7? He did that took a song and took it a totally different direction (I think he did it during Hollywood week too) so it wasn't all Adam Lambert that started this effect so Kara go back and brush up on your American Idol history. The rest of the article was okay.
It would be a real ballsy move by FOX to kill Idol. They can't take that risk though especially when they've had a tough time getting other shows going... Human Target flopped and Past Life is going in that direction too. Fringe is all but done, 24's going in that direction. If Idol were on CBS, where's there's a very strong list of supporting shows, I think they'd axe it.
What is the problem with Kara? I'll never understand why people don't like her? She is a VERY talented songwriter and can actually sing live! Something Paula can't do! Paula lip-synched her own song last year while critiquing the contestants? That makes no sense! Also Paula’s critiques usually consisted of incoherent ramblings of how good the people looked!
Chris Daughtry did that too.
I was thinking the same thing Leslie and Anonymous. I mean even Blake Lewis did that. It's an Idol staple not a Lambert effect.
I dislike many of Kara's songs, although I doubt I am her target market. "I Don't Hook Up" by Kelly Clarkson is one of the worst songs I've ever heard her sing and made me refrain from buying her new album until I heard her most recent release--which Kelly wrote herself.
Kara needs to be ousted from this show and a reason why the show has been losing viewers. She wants so bad to become the next Simon Cowell and if Stern lands on the show, he's going to make her life a living hell and I just hope he does. This woman is a hack!
I don't know why Kara keeps praising Adam Lambert... I agree with previous posts that it should be 'the David Cook effect,' as he was much more talented and original than Adam, but Kara wasn't on the show at that time. Kara was on with Kris Allen though, and he changed up songs, playing guitar, too...and gee, he actually won. Kara needs to get over Adam.
Max4Kelly, I want to respond to you, but first...
To everyone complaining about Kara talking about the "Adam Lambert effect"... sure others have changed up songs to great success, but Adam is the most recent to do so. That's why she uses him as a reference point.
I wish people would stop picking on Kara. She does a good job as a judge on this show. I like her.
Now, Re: Max4Kelly... Kris Allen won last year (shouldn't have), that's true. But who has gone on to have better success? Adam has. Whose CD has done better? Adam's has. Who do you see appearing on TV more since the last "Idol"? Adam. Give us a year or two and everyone will have forgotten about Kris Allen. I think Adam will hang around like Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood have, like them he's the one with staying power.