Sarah Jacques
Round Table editor

American Idol; the only show were the participants, ranging from lawyers to salon artists, have the same dream – to become the next pop-singing phenomenon. Their fate was once determined by three of the most well-known experts of music; Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, both music producers, and Paula Abdul, one of the most famous recording artists of the ’80s.

That is, however, until Abdul left Idol after being refused a major pay increase in her contract. Apparently, the $2 million Abdul earned last year alone on American Idol was not satisfying enough, so the pop sensation quit one of the most popular American reality TV shows.

Abdul’s absence, however, is not the most surprising factor of the new season; her replacement is none other than the famous talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres.

When the news of Abdul’s replacement was confirmed to be DeGeneres, the television-watching American public became divided against whether or not DeGeneres was qualified to perform a role such as a judge in on a music show, when DeGeneres has had limited, if any, musical experience.

DeGeneres defends herself by saying that she has no intention of treating the contestants as they would be treated if judged by a real, musically-based judge such as Cowell or Jackson. She instead states, “I’m not looking at it in a critical way from the producer’s mind. I’m looking at it as a person who is going to buy the music and is going to relate to that person. So I’m hopefully going to be that voice of what we’re all doing at home.”

DeGeneres has also noted that she is a huge fan of Idol, and has watched almost every episode since the program began.

In other words, DeGeneres is an everyday Idol fan, with one huge difference; she is known by most of the population for her talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

It’s a great idea to have a judge that is not totally submerged into a musically-centered world and can relate to the American people, but not any person deserves the chance to be a critic on a show that truly helps the contestants bloom into more professional and talented performers.

An American Idol judge should at least be experienced with music. DeGeneres may be an immensely popular talk show host and beloved by the American public, but there basically is no reason at all for DeGeneres to star as a judge who will aid in the determination of which talented hopeful will become the next singing sensation.

American Idol may be under criticism at the moment for DeGeneres’s new spot as a judge, but has certainly not lost its wide population of followers. In the future, DeGeneres will hopefully prove herself to be not only a talk show host, but of a worthy and knowledgeable judge that America will not resent as being the newest Idol judge.