Discuss.
I have a confession to make: I didn’t watch IDOL this past season so I have no idea what kind of a judge Kara is.
That said- I love Ellen Degeneres as a comedienne, but as an IDOL judge… I’m not really feeling it. It’s not a lack of intelligence or charm certainly, but I think the judge needs to have some knowledge of the music business other than as a customer. I don’t see lovin’ it.
I don’t know what I think of having Ellen. Maybe having three judges that have music knowledge is enough, and Ellen can provide a fan’s perspective while simultaneously bringing some levity to that segment. I’ll give her a chance. I rather think a 4th judge is unnecessary anyway.
You really picked a bad season to skip, Sampiro. This last season was really quite enjoyable - just chock full of talent. I’m a little too old to be considered their target demographic, but I’m still eagerly awaiting the upcoming CD’s from a few of the performers.
Having seen her as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, I think this is the stupidest choice ever. Whatever else you could say about Paula, at least she had some knowledge of the topic; Ellen’s input on SYTYCD (since, in addition to not having any music insider experience to bring to Idol, she didn’t have any dance experience either) was useless and gimmicky.
Might have to skip this season altogether.
I agree with Alan Sepinwall that four judges is one too many. From the quoted interview, Ellen admits she doesn’t have musical expertise but she’s a music fan, and an Idol fan – she can sorta be the “people’s voice” on the show. If she can get Kara to shut up.
Ellen will be fun. Does anyone listen to the judges anyway? They need less bickering and more humility. Don’t know if Ellen will settle them down, but it’s worth a shot.
I really wish they would have just fired Kara and kept Paula. Those three needed no fixing.
I think Ellen will make the airtime devoted to judge’s comments at least somewhat entertaining for a change. I guess Paula was entertaining, in a train-wreck kind of way. I posted in a previous thread that I thought they should replace Paula with another former pop star, but Ellen isn’t a bad idea. I don’t watch her talk show often, but she is very good with making funny “off the cuff” comments in any situation.
Too effing nice, and yet too mean. Since before its US run much of the fun of AI was Paula trying to pull something positive from the deepest part of a kybo. Paula was clueless and left openings to all and sundry. Ellen’s a pro, and will not give faffs to anybody. Put her on “Can’t Any Of You Losers Dance, FerChriSakes?”
She doesn’t know a damn thing about music or the music business, and it seems that she’ll just try to use her humor to get her though the show. I don’t know if they could have made a stranger choice to be honest. Paula was spacey, but at least she knew a thing or two about being a pop star and singing.
I see a problem 'cause Ellen is a star in her own right. She may overshadow the rest of the judges and even the contestants. I love Ellen but I think she’s too big on her own to be “just part” of an ensamble cast.
Well we shall see…
I agree with Markxxx about her overshadowing the other judges and the singers.
I picture that she will feel obligated to make a humorous comment at every opportunity and it will just get annoying.
That’s more or less what happened when she was a judge at SYTYCD. She had no concept of what makes a good dance good, so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself. She was very self-conscious in that way. Actually, she was never first to deliver feedback, so she could always just counter what Nigel had said previously. If he had praised the dancer, she would praise the dancer also. If he had critiqued the dancer, she would find something good to say in a humorous way. It’s good manners, but at the end of the day it’s pretty worthless.
I think they chose Ellen to be the angel to Simon’s devil, not unlike how Paula often played out. Somebody, Simon, needs to be tough on these kids and tell them like it is. I guess they also need somebody for the audience to relate to.
Well, it’s not like their first three judges were good. But yeah, if that was a trial run, I wouldn’t want her on as a regular based on that.
And I like Ellen.
Oh well, let her do AI, I’ll be over watching the good show (SYTYCD).
I like Ellen and the decision. I’ll be watching the show again this year.
I like Ellen; thought this was a terrible decision.
- They don’t need a 4th judge.
- They lost the only one of the judges who can sing (a little), and replaced her with a comedienne.
- The show is too much about the judges already, and will now only get worse.
I think Ellen is an inspired choice!
(Wish they would drop Kara though.)
Ellen might not come from the music industry, but to anyone who has watched her show, that woman is a HUGE music fan; she can sing along with rap stars, country stars, pop stars, old standards - she really does know, and listen to, about every genre of music and it shows.
I would say that as purely a “huge fan” of pretty much all popular music genres, Ellen will know if someone is as good as [fill in the blank of esoteric singer] and has the chops to make it in the music industry.
Plus, Ellen has some facial expressions that are priceless (if a bad singer comes along) and she can also throw in enough comic zingers to put Simon in his place, make the singers smile even as they are sent home packing, and also has a certain empathy that I think will endear her to audiences.
I can’t wait to see her on the show!
Without they bring back Melinda Doolittle and make sure she wins, there’s no point in continuing the show at all, much less trying to replace Paula.
Missed the edit: That said, I like Ellen, and I hope people who continue watching the show enjoy her contribution.
Pretty much what Kara does after Randy speaks – useless.
I really like Ellen, but like her sitcom, she’s not enough to get me to watch.
…WELL, maybe the beginning. I would be interested in seeing how she addresses the morons who think they can sing. She’s usually kind, but she can still work a few quips in there.