The TV Zone

Yup, the biggest baddest news of the week and we're just a couple hours in. A new judge has been added to the "American Idol" panel, and Fox/"AI" plans to unveil her before the world in just a few hours via a conference call.

She is Kara DioGuardi and "AI" was careful to note that she's JOINING the panel and not replacing any of our world famous threesome. Who's DioGuardi? Well, she is a bigshot/heavyweight in the music world, that's for certain, and has written many of the songs that loop through our collective heads each and every day. Here's her website for a refresher.

What does this mean? It's the biggest change, really, in "Idol's" production ingredient in seven seasons; it's as if you woke up one morning and Coke was no longer Coke but now had something new added to it (like cinnamon.) It's huge and the speculation will be inevitable, so let's begin it right now: That DioGuardi, assuming she's a hit, will one day replace one of our Original Threesome, and you can take bets right now on who that just might be. Paula's future on this show has always been a favorite water cooler subject because of - shall we call it delicately - occasionally irrational behavior. Yes, we love Paula, but we especially love to criticize Paula. I can't imagine this show without her wonderful, silly, over-the-top generosity, but I'm sure some producers can.

We'll report back with more details on this breaking story shortly, but meanwhile, here's the statement Mike Darnell, Fox reality boss, handed out...

"For the past seven seasons, Paula has had to endure the experience of being the only woman at the judges' table. With Kara by her side, Paula has some backup and now there is going to be a lot more 'girl power' on the show."

(Photo: Courtesy BMI.)