DioGuardi misjudged enormity of 'Idol'
By Erin Carlson
NEW YORK — When Kara DioGuardi accepted her job as the fourth judge on “American Idol,” she did not immediately grasp the enormity of a full-time gig on the most-watched TV show in the nation.
“I probably in my own way didn’t really take in what a huge thing it was, just ’cause it would be so overwhelming,” she said. “Until I kind of showed up and was like, ‘Omigod, what am I doing here? This is, like, huge!’ And then it really hit me when we went live that, wow, ‘I got to speak live in front of 30 million people?”’
Since joining the judges’ panel, DioGuardi has weathered the curve balls of live television, eye rolls from Simon Cowell and criticism of her judging abilities by the viewer peanut gallery. As the eighth season progresses to a showdown between Adam Lambert and Someone Else, the 38-year-old songwriter and producer’s “saving grace” has been connecting with the finalists and helping steer them in the right direction, by way of her industry expertise.
“It’s not an easy job,” DioGuardi said in an interview from Los Angeles. “I mean, there was nothing wrong with that panel. It wasn’t like I had to fix something. It was great. So to come in and kind of be part of it was really tricky. ...
“So I look at it sometimes and I think, ‘All right, maybe I could have done this better or that better,’ but I’m literally just trying not to” act like “a bumbling moron because I’m so, you know, nervous at times,” she said.
Adding a fourth judge to the veteran threesome of Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Cowell was part of series of changes producers implemented this season to shake up the franchise. A 13th contestant, picked in a wild card round, joined the top dozen. A one-time rule allowed judges to save contestant Matt Giraud from voter elimination.
And — in an “Idol” first — only two judges were allowed to review a singer last Tuesday to save time. The show has been running over schedule, which Cowell blamed on DioGuardi’s and Abdul’s talking too much.
“Of course, we’re going to have time issues — you added a fourth judge! What did you think? I was going to just sit there and, you know, like do a grading system on my hands? Which probably I would mess up because you know how my remedial math is,” DioGuardi joked, referring to the now-classic blunder she made while reviewing Lambert (“I’ve got six words for you: One of the best performances of the night!”).
Cecile Frot-Coutaz, an executive producer on “Idol,” said producers envisioned a fourth judge could create a time crunch.
“It’s hard for [the judges] to figure out whether they’ve spoken for 30 seconds or 45 seconds, so ... we’re going to try and help them with that and give them a sense of their timing so that we keep it under control a bit more,” Frot-Coutaz said.
DioGuardi, whose criticism can be as long-winded as Cowell’s is blunt, said she’s making an effort to cut her comments short. She seems to have scaled back in the last couple of weeks.
DioGuardi, who has worked with such singers as Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson, said she tries to tune out the negativity and focus on her goal: “to help America find the best ‘Idol’ and to help these kids.”