Maura Johnston from Idolator just posted a bunch of videos of new Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi’s work.
Kara isn’t just involved in the business side of music as a songwriter/publisher/producer triple threat. She sings and performs as well.
Included in the batch of videos at Idolator, is a clip of Kara singing lead vocals on Celine Dion’s “Taking Chances.” That’s Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics playing guitar for her. She collaborated with Stewart on the pseudo-retro project called Platinum Weird.
Kara’s got writing credit on, “Walk Away” with Kelly Clarkson (and Raine Maida!). “Ain’t No Other Man” with Christina Aguilera, and Katharine McPhee’s “Love Story”. Maura has also posted videos from Hilary Duff, Ashlee Simpson and Lindsey Lohan. Eep!
Seems Kara has written or co-written tunes for all the major female pop tarts…
She sings better than Paula! That’s not saying much.
Check out the video of Kara singing “Taking Chances” after the jump…
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I’m probably the only one open to this, I think it will end up being a great adddition. She is probably being trained to take Paulas spot. MJ, do you think this could mean she will write the finale song?
She was also a judge on abc’s “The One”–The short lived abc show that Seyesha was on. You can find you tube it to see what kind of a judge she was.
wow - she’s a pretty good singer.
I suppose she could be the “transition” judge until Simon leaves, and maybe they’ll go back to three judges again.
If they are going to replace a judge right NOW though, I suppose it could mean Paula would go, since she’s the only girl. But she (Paula) is the one who gives the contestants the “love” that they wouldn’t get otherwise, and the new judge doesn’t sound that touchy-feely.
Randy doesn’t give much feedback, but he’s in the “music producing” business, so I guess that’s the value he brings. But the new judge is a songwriter, and does a lot of other stuff in the music business (co-owns a publishing company) - so she’d bring a lot to the table. Maybe it’s Randy who leaves first!
okay - I’ve got too much time on my hands today.
OMG… I thought Celine Dion sang this song? I heard this song somewhere and I couldn’t put my finger on the singer… she has a good voice.. and I like this song.
Paula sings? I had no idea, lol. Certainly seen no evidence of it!
Was this before the song was given to Celine Deon? It’s identical, but with a different singer? I think she’s phenomenal, and I’m excited to see what she will bring to the show. I think it’ll be a great new factor to the show!
Ha! I wouldn’t call what Paula does singing.
This lady is good though. I think I’ll be ready for her come January. ;)
wow..i even prefer this to celine’s version.
Well, you know, at least when she critiques someone’s singing, I’ll know that she has a leg to stand on. Really.
This is either going to be brilliant, or a complete disaster.
I’ve been a fan of Kara’s since I heard the Platinum Weird song, “Will You Be Around” a few years ago. Kara used to work for Billboard and I think she co-owns a management company for songwriters. By far, out of all the judges, she has the most cred and actually knows what she’s talking about…I just hope TPTB don’t insist she dumb herself down to make her critiques “accessible.”
I think her judging will be great, but I’m worried about the dynamic with the judges. Paula is clearly not happy about this and feels threatened by the fact that she’s no longer the sole female judge AND the other female actually knows music. I wonder how Paula’s personal feelings are going to play out on the judging panel.
Also, this makes me wonder about the seating order. TPTB seem to LOVE the annoying Paula/Simon fights, so I doubt they’ll separate them, and Simon will still be the last to speak. I’m guessing it’ll be Kara, Randy, Paula, Simon. Heh.
This reminds me of when the X-factor brought in I believe Dannii Minogu, which resulted in Sharon Osborne quiting.
She does a great job with “Taking Chances” and I definitely can see her bringing a breath of fresh air with her to Idol. Hopefully with her repertoire of singers she’s written with/for she will drag Simon and AI into either doing away with theme weeks or at least modernizing them.
I don’t know how I feel about adding her into the mix with the other judges because I’m curious about how much chemistry she will have with them.
I agree with everyone, she’s a wonderful singer! I wish her the best, even though I have no plans to watch the next season…
I wonder if this is really why Nigel left. Maybe he didn’t want these changes that are supposedly going to happen this year. The media has been reporting that TPTB want to “shake things up” a bit.
I personally think a change will be welcomed by the fans of the show. This new judge seems to have the credentials. Let’s just see how long it will be before she gets “reined” in.
From Rodney Ho at Access Atlanta :
8/25: Kara DioGuardi talks to the media
By Rodney Ho | Monday, August 25, 2008, 03:25 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I listened to reporters barrage Kara DioGuardi with questions for 45 minutes and here are my impressions:
-She seems fairly level headed but not terribly colorful in terms of quotes. It’s certain she won’t be flightly like Paula or harsh like Simon or catchphrase-happy like Randy. What she’ll be we won’t quite know until she sits down tomorrow and begins her job.
-She has no clue where she’ll be sitting. I’m sure leaks will come out tomorrow from contestants in the know. I bet she’ll go before Paula but after Randy.
-She was a would-be singer who ended up becoming an in-demand songwriter/producer in the pop field. She has an impressive resume and has worked with many Idols.
-Her favorite Idol to work with was Kelly Clarkson. (Cool beans!) She produced Kelly’s hit “Walk Away.” Of the contestants last season, she liked Brooke White the most.
-“Idol” called her literally just days ago and flew her to New York, where the first later-round auditions start tomorrow.
-She’s closest friends with Paula Abdul. They co-wrote a Kylie Minogue song together. It’s called “Spinning Around.” It was a worldwide hit, never released in the U.S.:
Hopefully her already knowing Paula and having co-written with her bodes well for the judging panel (i.e., no catfights). I like the fact that she watches the show, it gives her a different perspective than the judges who’ve been there from day one. Also, I would think maybe more of an understanding of the possible frustrations that the viewing audience at home may have felt with AI.
Kara is a huge talent that just fell through the cracks and she never became “a star”. This Idol gig is a backdoor to a form of stardom of another stripe.
She can out sing most of the people who ended up, in effect, singing second-rate covers of her songs. I think bringing a person who actually has vocal and songwriting ability into the, so-called, “judging panel” is long, long overdue. I hope, for Kara’s sake, the comments next year aren’t as transparently scripted as last years were.
American Idol is a marketing tool for Simon’s label to promote and turn into “household names” singers it wants to sign & bring to market, so we know that she won’t be too harsh on the chosen few but I think some new blood at this point in this reality show’s arc is a very good thing, indeed.
Kara’s father served two terms in the House of Representatives during the 1980’s.
Thanks for that song. I see why she wants to discover someone with a very distinctive sound. She doesn’t have it. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a nice singer, but her sound is a little light and not very distinctive at all. On performance, she’s much more distinctive b/c of good looks and a bit for technique but not for tone. I feel for her b/c a distinctive sound is so much dependent on genetics. (I wonder if she’ll be frustrated as a judge?) Great for her that she’s a talented songwriter/producer/businesswoman.
Wow. She has a pretty good voice, and is quite pretty as well. Hope she will be a good judge.