2009 was a big year for American Idol. After airing for seven wildly successful seasons with three judges, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, producers decided to throw a fourth judge into the mix, bringing songwriter Kara DioGuardi on board for season eight. It was a controversial move, and to the surprise of very few people, it went ... poorly.

The judges, who had spent seven seasons learning the rhythm of the show, were suddenly forced to contend with a fourth voice. As none of these folks were exactly shrinking violets to begin with, this led to a lot of jockeying for the mic, which in turn wasted a lot of time. It wasted so much time, in fact, that critiques would get cut off, the show would run long, and at times, judges wouldn't be allowed to speak at all.

So at the end of this harried season, it was no surprise that someone would be shown the door. Many thought that it would be newbie judge Kara DioGuardi. Instead, it was Paula Abdul who was given the boot, and replaced by music legend ... Ellen DeGeneres?

If Kara DioGuardi has her way, she and Ellen DeGeneres will be hitting it off like franks and beans, peanut butter and jelly, frick and frack... two peas in a pod. At at an industry conference in New York, Kara was musing about the upcoming season of American Idol in which DioGuardi and DeGeneres will be sharing the judges' table together -- with Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, of course.

"I'm hoping the chemistry with Ellen will be great -- and a great start to the season," said Kara.

With that in mind, Kara's going to sleep on the couch at Ellen's house until they're bosom buddies. ...Kidding! But Kara will try to spend some time with Ellen during December when they both have some time off from their busy schedules.

If the news that Ellen DeGeneres was going to become a judge on American Idol had broken a year ago, I would have been totally psyched. Hopefully she would replace Paula, and bring some much-needed humor to the show (humor that isn't mean-spirited or allegedly pill-addled, that is). But now that Ellen will be the new fourth judge on Idol, the news comes as somewhat as a disappointment.

I've been a huge fan of Ellen since her stand-up days, so I'm all for her showing up anywhere. I also think her purpose of bringing a "fan's perspective" to the show is a good idea on the producers' part. But does Paula need to be the only judge Ellen replaces?

Oh sure, now that she's not there anymore, they miss her. Sounds like a familiar story, but this is American Idol. Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell are missing Paula Abdul at the judge's table. They're in the midst of the audition process, using guest judges like Neil Patrick Harris and Kristin Chenoweth, and Randy confessed that he's looked over for Paula during the process and wondered, "Where's my P?"

Simon, who seems to have a lexicon all his own, said that he misses Paula, too. But in his bizarre way with words, he compared the new Idol atmosphere as different, like "comparing a carrot to a banana."

"You stayed true to who you are, Paula. You were a real superstar up on that dais. And you looked great ... sometimes. Other times you looked like you poured yourself into a dress too small for Mary-Kate Olsen, but I digress. You were a little pitchy at times. Did I say pitchy? I meant tipsy, but we're still so proud of you.

"You were just so cute I wanted to squeeze you, pinch your head off and dangle it from my car's rear-view mirror. All of the judges are just so talented and amazing at what they do, and the competition won't be the same without you. But don't worry, Paula. This isn't the end for you. This is the beginning of your career. You can do anything you want because you are a star. Touchdown!"

Get on your craziest costume and ask your mom again if you really, really can sing because it's time to start the process of making an ass of yourself on national television all over again. Only this time, the crazies who go to the first round of auditions won't get the chance to sing in front of the judges until a callback sometime later this summer. That's because while they want to get the audition process under way, American Idol doesn't know if they're bringing back Paula Abdul or Kara DioGuardi.

I wonder if this move will keep some of the crazies away. Now you're looking at two entirely separate trips just to look stupid on television. Will it still be worth it? Sure, the local crazies will still come out, but what about the travelers? It is interesting to note that Idol is changing the process up this much due to contract questions. That must mean that they're really not sure about one or both of the women's return to the show. DioGuardi was on a one-year deal, while Abdul's multi-year contract ended this season.

At long last, the season 8 finale of American Idol has arrived! It's been fun watching all of the Idols grow in their musical prowess (that's a Paula word), especially Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, the final two performers who couldn't be more different, but are both awesome in their own way.

Ryan started things off by introducing the judges, along with a funny video clip for each of them -- Randy Jackson saying "For Me" throughout the season; Kara DioGuardi saying "sweetie" and "honey" to people who didn't make it past the audition process; Paula's round-up of colorful adjectives (vocal prowess, masterful and effortless, palette, etc.); and Simon's issues with hearing what people say (as in, he could probably use a hearing aid!).

"Two are left standing, but only one can take it all." Seacrest breaks it down for us this evening, just in case there was anyone who didn't know what was going on. Each contestant is performing three songs tonight: a song that they've already performed on the show, one chosen by Idol producer Simon Fuller, and the winner's single, co-written by judge Kara DioGuardi.

And what a winner's single it is. Hoo boy. I had no idea a song could be that awful. It truly plumbs the depths and nearly ruins the entire night. Luckily, the guys have two previous performances that hopefully people will remember instead of the final one. Because, wow. Just, wow.

It's getting down to the wire, and all three of the remaining contestants are certainly talented enough to be crowned the next American Idol. While I've been an Adam Lambert fan all along, I'd be fine with whomever wins this season.

Things start off tonight with the Ford commercial, kind of a fun little cartoon-oriented ad with Adam, Danny and Kris singing "Break My Stride." It must be really fun to see yourself as a cartoon/comic book character.

We open up with a shot of the three finalists: Danny, Adam and Kris. Doesn't it make you kind of sad? I don't want a finale with three dudes -- I want Allison back! She should be standing up there instead of Gokey, and she probably would be if the judges didn't have some weird fascination with him.

In any case, Ryan informs us it's the 300th episode and that we should stand up for the top 3. No thank you, sir. This is also the episode in which the finalists sing two songs, one of which is chosen by the judges. I already know what Gokey is singing, because Paula Tweeted it earlier today. NOT THAT SHE'S BIASED OR ANYTHING. Hey Paula, what are the other guys singing? Huh? What was that? <crickets>.

Yet another results show has come around, and Ryan starts things off by asking, "Who will graduate from the Idol school of rock, and who will just get schooled?" You know, Ryan, I'm available if your writers are on strike. Call me.

Anyway, sounds like it was a dramatic week on American Idol - a large column collapsed and in a separate incident, a staffer was injured on a stair mishap. Whew. But the show must go on, and we'll find out tonight whether Allison, Danny, Adam or Kris will be going home. The other three get to go home, too, but for a big hometown parade with cheerleaders and town leaders gushing praise on them.

What Simon Cowell says goes ... I think. With former executive producer Nigel Lythgoe having jumped ship from American Idol to focus more on his summer baby So You Think You Can Dance, Cowell is one of the "big dogs" at the show. So if Cowell says that the entire judging panel will be back next season on Idol, we can probably believe it. This is possibly in response to TV Guide's recent issue declaring that Cowell was just about done with the show himself and that he wasn't sure about Kara on the show. Now apparently he thinks "she's cute."

With this particular final 4, you know that Rock Night is going to be interesting -- and they don't disappoint. Adam and Allison are definitely suited for this, while Kris and especially Danny have a bit of an uphill battle. Slash is the mentor, which sounds exciting, but we don't really see a whole lot of him. I have no idea if this is what actually happened or not, but we definitely get the impression that he didn't work with the contestants as much as some of the other mentors did.

Also this week we have something new: duets. Frankly, I thought the idea was going to be kind of a train wreck, but they turned out to be really interesting. Pairing Allison and Adam together makes sense, but it left the odd couple of Danny and Kris. It was really kind of hilarious, and I'm sad that they won't be able to do it again this season (unless they do it tomorrow during the results show), because it was a lot of fun.

Okay you guys: after watching last night's performances, you cannot call me crazy because of my love for Kris Allen. I know my adoration for Anoop was irrational, and while I was sad that he went home last week, I knew he wasn't going to win. But Kris? Kris should win. Of the five contestants who performed last night, his would be the only CD I would consider buying.

My dad, however, thinks that Adam is in a class of his own and no one can touch him. That he'll win and nobody else even deserves to be in the competition. I pointed out the fact that he scream-sings all of his songs, but my dad was hearing none of it. My father is also tone-deaf -- not that that means anything.

Anyway, since we couldn't talk last night, I had to get that all off of my chest before we get into the Taylor Hicks and the Jaime Foxx and the elimination in tonight's show. Regardless of who leaves tonight, Adam's going to win and I'm going to be sad. Everything leading up to that is just going to be vague disappointments. Let's get started!

The theme on this week's American Idol is songs from the Rat Pack era, and the five remaining contestants are mentored by Jamie Foxx. I get that he's a classically-trained musician who also starred in Ray and Dreamgirls, but is he the best person to mentor on this genre? I get the feeling that whomever is getting bad press calls up the Idol producers and begs to be on the show. Well, that and I'm sure he's plugging The Soloist, in theaters right now. Anyhoo ...

Kris Allen starts things off with "The Way You Look Tonight," one of my favorite songs from that era. It's really nice having Ricky Miner and the band onstage, because it helps to put you in that era. The tune starts off slow, then picks up with a jazzy beat in the middle. Really, really nice.

The Judges: Randy says it's his best performance to date; Kris took his time, told a story, and added some R&B stylings. Kara agrees, saying Kris set the technical standard high for the evening. "You are truly a dark horse in this competition," says Kara. Paula says he's made an amazing transition from boy-next-door to sophisticated gentleman. Simon isn't quite as enthusiastic, saying it's "wet" and like "taking a well-trained spaniel for a walk." He doesn't feel like Kris can win the competition.