American Idol Gets New Judge

Sleep with one eye open, Paula.

By now, we can pretty much recite what the judges on American Idol will say. Randy "So Check It Out" Jackson will utter a good 432 "dawgs". Paula will profess her love in between long, drawn out, tearful pauses. Simon will draw from his go-to list of adverbs (absolutely, positively, utterly, entirely, completely) to emphasize his disgust. They could have their own soundtrack at this point.

Looking to spice up the pat commentary, the AI peeps have decided to add a fourth critic to the panel of judges. When season eight kicks off this January, Randy, Paula and Simon will be joined by Kara DioGuardi, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and music insider.

Kara--who has written songs for Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and Carrie Underwood, among others--says she's "pretty opinionated, pretty feisty, and not afraid of a good confrontation."

Well, OK then, Lady Simon. How are the other judges taking the news? In an interview yesterday, Paula said she was "concerned about the audience and acceptance." Is that pilled-out code speak for "I'm freaking out I'm going to lose my job"?

To get a glimpse of what Kara's all about, head to americanidol.com.