American Idol's New Judge - Why is it All About Paula?

Over the last week or so the buzz has been about American Idol adding a fourth judge to the American Idol roster for season 8. Songwriter, Kara DioGuardi has secured her place as a fourth judge on American Idol, which evens the playing field a bit as Kara will join veteran judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell in critiquing the up and coming American Idol hopefuls. A lot of emphasis is being put on how this will impact female judge Paula Abdul and if she should feel threatened by the addition of another female judge to the line up.

The addition of another judge is intended to stir things up inevitably and probably to spark the Hollywood rumor mill of possible animosity and jealousy among the judges, but everyone enjoys a little drama and that is the driving force behind this announcement. I would venture to guess that more viewers than usual will be tuning in to American Idol this year for just that reason, to see if there is a bit more drama on the set as Kara adds her interpretation of the performances to the show.

But why all the focus simply on Paula and Kara? Why is there little mention of how this may affect Randy or Simon, or if they should feel threatened by Kara's addition to the show? If you listen to Paula's responses when she has been asked about the addition of Kara to the show there does seem to be a tone of apprehension in her voice. She has verbalized that "we will see" and made comments to the effect that time will tell how this works out for Idol, she does not sound overwhelmingly positive or optimistic about the addition. There have even been comments circulating that Paula supposedly ''found or created" Kara and that they have been good friends for years. If my good friend just got a great job working with me, I would be showing a bit more enthusiasm and less apprehension that what Paula seems to be exhibiting. There seems to be little apprehension or negative speculation from either one of the other veteran judges since the announcement was made. In fact, Randy Jackson seemed to be excited about the changes in the show and the addition of Kara DioGuardi.

If anyone watched Idol last season they would have witnessed some strange actions on the part of Paula Abdul that made people ask "what is wrong with her?" There were times when she seemed out of it or that she was overly giggly and giddy, and there was her verbal faux pas where she was critiquing a performance that never even occurred yet that left people scratching their heads. Perhaps Paula should have good reason to be concerned about the recent addition of Kara DioGuardi as an American Idol judge.

Paula's erratic behavior has really made the public begin to question if she may have some sort of substance abuse problem or if her Coca-Cola glass really contains Coca-cola. She has been appeared to be under the influence, confused, and just plain out of it from time to time with her incessant ramblings. Perhaps adding Kara to the line will give Paula a reality check and maybe she will get back on top of her game. One does have to wonder if perhaps this may have been the intention of FOX producers in adding a fourth judge? Maybe they are hoping that Paula will pull herself back together and who knows, a little behind the scenes drama could heat up the ratings as well.

The addition of Kara DioGuardi to American Idol is a surprise but it may just be what the show needs to shake things up. Simon may have another judge to debate his critical judgments, Randy might have to explain his "it was just alright" comments a little better, and Paula may need to get her A-game back into place. This change in American Idol could just be the beginning of things to come. Now about those song selections..................