Scooching in between Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson sounds daunting, if not a small scary. (Chris Pizzello/AP Photo)
But Kara DioGuardi, the newly-installed fourth judge on "American Idol," is confident she'll find her niche within the pettifoggery, ratings-tested judges' panel where the cable between love and hate is foggy with every critique.
"I'm simply gonna speak to Simon the path I speak to everybody," DioGuardi told reporters during a teleconference Monday. "I'm just gonna have my opinion, be honest and I don't foresee whatever problems. I'm really activated about this, and up for the challenge."
The Grammy-nominated songwriter testament make her debut when the one-eighth season of "Idol" premieres in January, the Fox network aforementioned Monday.
"It's truly flattering excessively, you know, to think that (`Idol') even thought about me," she said. "I beggarly, when I got the call, I thought they were calling the wrong person. So I'm the new kid on the block, and I'm hoping everyone's gonna go easy on me � and that I bring a lot to the table."
It's not still clear how ties will be broken in the audition process � in past seasons, two kayoed of three judges had to gibe to set ahead aspiring pop stars to the Hollywood round. And something volition have to give during the telecast that scantily has sufficiency time to fit in three judges' opinions.
DioGuardi, now the youngest "Idol" judge at 37, said she leads a "low-key" life. In that case, she'd do well to set for the instant celebrity that comes with coming into court on the most popular � and lucrative � reality show on television.
Which begs the question: Who IS Kara DioGuardi?
"I'm maybe not a household appoint, but people know of me in the manufacture," said DioGuardi, who co-owns the Los-Angeles based company Arthouse Entertainment, which is now producing music by recent "Idol" runner-up David Archuleta.
DioGuardio's songs have been recorded by Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood and Pink, among others. Her late Top 40 hits include Stefani's "Rich Girl," Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man," Clarkson's "Walk Away" and Dion's "Taking Chances."
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