
Alas, I'm not talking about Annie Lennox. In an effort to bring what a Fox exec calls more "girl power" to the show, the judges' table for the next season of
American Idol will now have a Coke cup for songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who's shared writing credits on songs including Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" and Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away" and collaborated with Stewart on the pseudo-retro project
Platinum Weird. DioGuardi, who
Idol head honcho Simon Fuller called "a smart, sassy lady," is being billed as the show's fourth judge, which I guess means either that the judges' table will be widened or Paula Abdul will get some time off to "rest" now and again. (One producer claims that
Idol was always supposed to have four judges, although it seems strange to me that it took the executives this long to find someone who wanted the gig.) A few highlights of
DioGuardi's career after the jump.
More »