Ellen DeGeneres To Be New American Idol Judge

Fox announced on Wednesday that Ellen DeGeneres has been tapped to be the 4th judge on American Idol.  Ellen has essentially replaced Paula Abdul, who's contract was not renewed for the show's 9th season.  While Ellen has no formal training in the music world, she is a music enthusiast and shows off her sweet dancing skills everyday on her talk show.  Ellen will join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Kara DioGuardi who are the other three judges.

Abdul had been replaced by a succession of guest judges across the country as "Idol" started next season's auditions, which will air in January. Among them: Mary J. Blige, Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, and Shania Twain — but not the 51-year-old DeGeneres, who will join the ninth season following the show's tryout rounds.

"Hopefully, I'm the people's point of view because I'm just like you," DeGeneres said on her talk show. "I sit at home and I watch it, and I don't have that technical ... I'm not looking at it in a critical way from the producer's mind. I'm looking at it as a person who is going to buy the music and is going to relate to that person."

Ellen also told her talk show audience in an episode scheduled to air Thursday that she had been "dying to tell everyone" and would not abandon her long running talk show. Instead, she will have "a day job and a night job."  And joked that "The times we're living in, we're all doing that."

Oh Ellen!

She is really the only person I could actually see replacing Paula.  She will be able to bring the funny, but not in a pain killer induced fog that Abdul brought to the table.  Funny yes, but deliberate?  I don't think so.  Ellen will actually be funny on purpose,  lets see how that will pan out.  I know I am excited for this season to start!
UPDATE:

Ryan Seacrest talked to Ellen this morning on kissfm about judging American Idol. Click here to listen to the interview.