Ellen DeGeneres talks about joining “American Idol,” her favorite singers to come out of the show and how she hopes to play nice with Simon Cowell
By AMY CHOZICK
Ellen DeGeneres by Michael Becker / FOX
The show must go on. “American Idol” returns for its ninth season on Jan. 12 without Paula Abdul. Talk-show maven Ellen DeGeneres will take over as the newest member of the judging panel, joining Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi to decide which aspiring singers get the “Idol” spotlight.
Ms. DeGeneres took a break on the set of her daytime television show to talk about joining “Idol,” her favorite singers to come out of the show and how she hopes to play nice with Mr. Cowell.
The Wall Street Journal: What are you doing to prepare for your now role as a judge on “American Idol”?
Ellen DeGeneres : I’m starting to criticize everyone I see, no matter what. I’m like, you thought that was a good outfit to wear? I just start criticizing people. But really, I’m trying not to think about it too much… I don’t want to be influenced by anyone thinking I have to be different. I’m going to be myself and I’m going to be brutally honest in a kind way, I hope… Whatever comes out of my mouth will be a surprise to me and you.
WSJ: Paula Abdul was known as the nurturing judge. Do you think you’ll be a similar type of judge?
Ms. DeGeneres: I don’t know if I’ll be as nurturing as she is. She always found a positive thing to say instead of attacking. I’ll probably try to be somewhat encouraging. Just because in standup [comedy] there’s no where to hide. When you’re in a band, you’ve got the guitar player you can turn to but when you’re by yourself on stage I know what that feels like and I know it doesn’t feel good, especially with millions of people watching. But I’ll be honest. I don’t think it helps anybody to be encouraged and not told the truth.
WSJ: How will you balance doing “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in the morning and “American Idol” at night?
Ms. DeGeneres: It’s going to be challenging. I moved my schedule up on the show so I’ll shoot the show earlier in the day and jump in the car and run over to “Idol.” It will be energizing also because I’ll be able to come on my show the next day and talk about things that happened that people didn’t get to see. And I can be funny in a brand new atmosphere, in a different environment and that’s always stimulating to me. I get bored easily, so I like to do a lot of different things… In the long run, it’ll be better for me and for both shows.
WSJ: Will you plan to have more “Idol” contestants on your talk show, now that you’ll be a judge?
Ms. DeGeneres: No more than I normally do. I’ve always had them on. I’ve had the people who have been voted off on and I’ve had the winners.
WSJ: Now that Oprah is leaving daytime television, a lot of people are speculating about who will fill the post-Oprah void. How do you think her departure will impact “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”?
Ms. DeGeneres: I think Oprah has reigned as queen of daytime for 25 years, so there’s going to be a whole bunch of viewers—if we’re in markets opposite her—that we will hopefully gain and that’s going to be good for us. But there’s always competition, whether we are in that timeslot or not. Even if we move to that timeslot, we’ll be up against somebody. So you can’t count on something like that.
I’m happy with how we’re doing right now in the ratings. Hopefully we’ll do even better but there’s no guarantee because something could come along even if it’s not on the air right now. Someone could put something on the air even if it’s unexpected, so you just do the best show you can and hope people like you.
Read the complete interview at online.wsj.com
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