Idol judge Kara Dioguardi held a press conference earlier today. Here are some choice quotes: (Via LAT, RS, USAToday, AOL.
- On Howard Stern replacing Simon Cowell: ” I don’t think he has music background, or any kind of music anything. And I think, if you’re going to replace Simon, you have to have that background. You have to be somebody that knows about signing great artists, and I think that’s probably a precursor fo whoever takes that position.”
- On Ellen Degeneres as Idol judge, “I think she also knows more about music than you think she does…I felt she had a really good handle on whether a contestant had potential, had star quality. She knew if something was off in the vocals or in their performance. And I thought she delivered the message with kindness but also had criticism in there.”
- Kara would like to see a girl win, “I mean, I would love to see a girl win. I think that this year, or especially with what’s going on in music currently, it’s the women’s movement. You have these very unique women at the forefront of the music industry that all have their own voices, that all have their own styles and looking at the pool of talent we have this year, it’s similar. I do think it’s a lot easier to break women then men, actually, in terms of records.”
- More on Ellen, “You have to remember that we’re being edited, so my experience with her in Hollywood Week is very different than what you’re seeing. “Do I think every [judge] gets to show all sides of who they are? No … and to judge on one person’s show is very difficult to do. Speaking from experience, it’s something that takes time to get used to. I think she did an incredible job.”
- Kara was disappointed in one contestant who took a completely different direction in Hollywood from the country vibe exhibited in the audition round. No name given or mention of how far they got.
- On Didi Benami’s version of her song “Terrified”, “I was absolutely shocked. She showed that she had a great range and a sensitivity when she sings. I was pretty impressed by her.”
- Kara calls Andrew Garcia’s acoustic performance of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up”, “Genius”
- On this year’s group in Hollywood, “People were interpreting songs from the get-go, in audition week. … They were taking some risks, and I like that.”
- Kara insists that everyone is getting along on set, “You to take any rumor you hear about American Idol with a rain of salt. They’re usually not true.”
- Kara would like to see Harry Connick Jr. and Meatloaf (!!!) as Idol mentors.
- Kara took on a more nurturing role during the auditions in Paula’s absence, “During the audition rounds, I tried to give kids the benefit of the doubt when they had some modicum of talent.”
