American Idol hires Ellen DeGeneres to replace Paula Abdul

degeneres_ellenby Ruth Anne Boulet

*Sigh*

Really, I didn’t think it would come to this. Paula is really, truly out. Replacing her is Ellen DeGeneres.

At the risk of repeating what several other bloggers are saying, I will concur that while I like Ellen, she’s no Paula. Paula was on the panel to be really upbeat and spout the crazy salad. Will I hear Ellen tell contestants they are ‘authentic’ or ‘original?’ Will I believe her if she does?

One thing I know is that Ellen won’t have the ‘is-she-drunk-or-high-or-WHAT?!’ that Paula gave us, consistently, week after week. That’s what made her, in Paula’s own words, original & authentic.

There are reports that Ellen wants to give “the people’s perspective.” Sigh. Ellen, you’re not “the people” anymore. You’ve got your own very successful daytime show. And anyway, I don’t want “the people” out of my judging panel. That’s what I have my friends & the Internet for. That’s where I get “the people”‘s reaction. I don’t want a representative of us non-singing folks on the judging panel. Sorry, Ellen.

I truly hope I ‘m wrong and Ellen DeGeneres brings something new to American Idol. I have a feeling, however, that she won’t and this next season we’ll see the slow death of a successful reality TV show. Maybe then American Idol will finally get an Emmy — like so many, after it’s gone.

Photo credit: © 2008 by Jeff Frank

Check out Ellen on SYTYCD and decide for yourself after the jump.

Glad Paula’s got a new gig: