at 23:05 on September 9, 2009, EDT.
By Derrik J. Lang, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES - Ellen DeGeneres is dancing her way into the fourth judge's seat on "American Idol."

Fox announced Wednesday the talk show host and comedian, who admittedly has no formal music experience other than a passion for tunes, would join Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi for the ninth season starting in January.

The announcement all but seals the departure of Paula Abdul, who announced she was quitting the show amid a contract dispute in July.

DeGeneres told her talk show audience in an episode scheduled to air Thursday that she would not abandon her Emmy-winning chatfest, but would have "a day job and a night job."

"The times we're living in," she quipped, "we're all doing that."

Abdul had been replaced by a succession of guest judges as "American Idol" started next season's auditions. Among them: Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Kristin Chenoweth, Joe Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and Shania Twain - but not the 51-year-old DeGeneres.

"Hopefully, I'm the people's point of view because I'm just like you," DeGeneres said on her show. "I sit at home and I watch it, and I don't have that technical ... 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."

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AP Television Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

http://www.americanidol.com/


©The Canadian Press, 2009

I read this on MSN, I think she'll do a great job!

PaisleyPark5083 said:

I agree

luv4u said:

i disagree. when she was a guest judge on so you think you can dance, she added nothing to the critique but one-liners. it might work on something like america's got talent, where u have quirky contestants...but this will end up like dennis miller doing monday night football,=

I like Ellen - She'll be great for the show
And it would be good for a change to watch American Idol without 2 judges making out in the background!

This show does NOT need 4 judges.

This might actually make me turn it on again. I love Ellen.