Fox Adds Fourth Face to ‘American Idol’ Judges Panel

American Idol has added a fourth judge to the famous triumvirate. Kara DioGuardi - a Grammy-nominated pop composer - will join gushy Paul Abdul, nasty Simon Cowell and straight-forward Randy Jackson for season eight.

DioGuardi’s attributes? She describes herself as being “feisty” and a “straight-shooter,” and is expected to provide some balance among the judges, according to Reuters.

“For the past seven seasons, Paula has had to endure the experience of being the only woman at the judges table,” says Mike Darnell, head of alternative programming at Fox. “With Kara by her side, Paula finally has some back-up, and now there is going to be a lot more ‘girl power’ on the show.”

Though American Idol still pulled tremendous viewership in its seventh season, averaging 28.1 million viewers each week, and remained the top-rated show, viewership was down from 30.8 million at the height of its popularity in 2006, prompting Fox to promise some changes. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe left the show earlier this summer.

This is the second time Fox has tried adding a fourth judge. At the beginning of season two, radio DJ Angie Martinez was added to the panel, but left after just three days, writes Media Life. Fox executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz says the network always planned to have a fourth judge on the panel, adding (via People) that the international series have shown that a fourth judge “creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers.”