A Fourth Judge For American Idol

Kara DioGuardi

American Idol producers have decided to add another judge to the popular reality series for its eight season, in addition to Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. The new judge, Kara DioGuardi, will balance out gender distribution at the jury table, as well as provide a counterweight to the oftentimes gushy persona of Paula Abdul.

Executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz was quoted in People, saying, "We've seen from our international series that having a fourth judge creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers."

I guess this decision to add a fourth judge was due to season seven incident where Paula commented on contestant Jason Castro's supposed second song when it hadn't been sung yet.

Wikipedia has this article about Kara DioGuardi:
She is a multi-Grammy nominated songwriter, having written or co-written many international hit songs from 1999 to today.

Kara DioGuardi's songs have been recorded by artists including Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Hilary Duff, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, Faith Hill, Santana, Ashlee Simpson, Jewel, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue, and many others. DioGuardi has also had much success with major Latin music artists including RBD, Laura Pausini, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, Thalía, Ricky Martin, and Carlos Santana. DioGuardi can also be heard performing backup vocals on some of these recordings.

As Senior VP of A&R at Warner Bros. Records, DioGuardi has recently signed artists Jason Reeves, Laze & Royal, Atozzio, and David Hodges to the label.

DioGuardi's forthcoming releases and collaborations include cuts from artists David Cook, Britney Spears, Esmee Denters, Pink, Martina McBride, Hannah Montana, Demi Lovato, Diego, Menudo, Tom Jones, Amie Miriello, The Pussycat Dolls, Nick Lachey, Daniel Powter, Crosby Loggins, Tyler Hilton, Halestorm, Jesse Lee, and the Clique Girlz. She also has songs featured in the movies Camp Rock, The Cheetah Girls 3, and Hannah Montana: The Movie.