Rubbish analysis, copies the other judges and when she has to go first she waffles bollocks.

e2a:

"pitchy!"

(....sorry kara just said it and i get excited whenever its spoken thanks to randy )

Just shows how hard it is to judge singers with meaningful critique, come back Paula. Ellen leave it to the pros, you look stupid.

Ya paula may have been batshit stir crazy but her critique was excellent

Thought she'd be better than that. Bit :yawn:

Yeah I don't think she knew what to say tonight, just repeating what the others were saying. I liked Randy a lot tonight.

I bet half of the performances tonight would have her up on her feet and grinning from ear to ear

Ach I like her, she offers some light relief from the panel.

But I have to admit, Kara is my favourite judge. She gets it spot on each time!

I think it was unfortunate for her that she didn't get to do the auditions because that's where she will be best (more informal, can tell funny jokes etc.). She looked totally out of her depth at times last night which in some ways was surprising because she seemed quite comfortable at Hollywood week. Kara's marking her territory as well but she still grates on me.

The girls night fell flat. The band seemed to drown out too many of them and nobody really moved beyond 7/10 territory. It wasn't even that they were terrible, it was worse... they were boring. And in a 2 hour show, that's difficult. That didn't help Ellen either, even the other 3 were clearly running out of things to say. Plus, there was very limited interaction between the judges.

I don't mind Ellen but have to say I really miss Paula's madness. And Kara I just can't stand. Problem is without the distraction of Paula, and wondering what she'll do next, you realize how stupid the judges comments actually are most of the time.

This was bound to happen.. the jury's still out on Ellen.. so far its been average.. Paula's madness n banter with Simon n Ryan will be missed.. n next year no Simon..

I liked her in Hollywood, but she's clearly out of her depth on the live shows. She's fumbling around for her comments - she never really completes a sentence, always trailing off before stumbling off into another unmeaningful comment, like 'I like you', 'I like that song'. Great, but does she have any comments about the singing? Maybe she's got first night nerves too. I just hope she improves.

They need a judge with music experience, I think one of the Jacksons would have been good, say Jermaine or Janet.

Bring back Paula - it doesn't seem the same without her.

Really not liking Ellen at all so far - the judges chemistry seems to be well off. Simon looks bored shitless (even more so than usual) and Kara I want to slap for forcing herself into Simon's shot every 5 seconds (cueing him to scowl even harder). It really isnt working - and I LOVE Ellen - hoped she would bring some sparkling wit and humour to the line up - not happening. Im missing Paula's wanderings into fashion and make up. And Simon has nobody to colour in .

Idol is going to tank now because Simon has decided to leave, that's why he looks so bored. Idol doesn't rely on him completely but it's so identified with him once he's gone, it will fade away fast. It's seriously tired format now and since he's doing X Factor, Idol will suffer by comparison.

The only reason he was ever on the US version - he was unheard of in the States - was because in their ultra-positive everyone's a star culture they struggled to find an articulate no nonense music judge that would dish the bitter truth with a quippy off the cuff style - and was also prepared to do it, as it was thought this person would be hated. I thought Kara might be a female Simon but she isn't and Ellen certainly isn't. I don't actually think she'll come back for another series.

Ellen has already fallen into the trap of wanting to be liked. This is partly the US celeb thing, but it's also because she's a performer herself and doesn't like brickbats. I think she genuinely appreciates all the performers whereas Simon repeatedly points out we're looking for one star to go round the world - you're ok but you're not it.

I agree. I remember when it was first mentioned that he was going to be a judge on the American version of Pop Idol, people were saying "but he can't criticise people like that in America, they will shoot him!".

I'm still at the stage of giving her a chance. I know her comments can be pretty general and struggling - though she does make the odd interesting quip - but I think she still is an interesting new personality there and don't really find her
significantly more annoying than Kara. Having said that, I think Kara is finding her feet a bit more these days. A bit.

I think she's doing okay. It'll take a while for her to find her feet, and she does not profess to be a musicologist, just a fan. Presumably the reason why they kept with 4 judges when they could so easily have stuck to three when Paula left was because nobody was providing Paula's motherly/good cop vibe to balance out Mr Grinch, and in that respect Ellen is doing well - she comes across as very fair-minded and respectful.

Paula had her ways, and I do miss her, but in the later years she became very slow in getting her points across and you'd spend ages waiting for her to repeat that someone was "in their zone tonight' or some other earth-shatteringly intelligent remark. It was funny for a while last season after Kara arrived because it was as if Paula had been reading a music encyclopedia before each show in order to throw in terms to impress everyone that she too knew a thing about music, when in fact she's a choreographer who got lucky.

Hopefully Ellen will get better with time. The studio shows were always going to be the more intimidating.

I don't miss Paula. She was eccentric yes, but her critiques were demented. The only criticism she ever gave was 'pitchy', otherwise it was a stream of hippy, loved-up nonsense. She reminded me of Glinda from Wizard of Oz, ditzy, out of it, but essentially kind-hearted.

Plus last season Paula tended to copy what Kara said. Speaking of who, I don't understand the Kara hate - yes she's very up herself, which grates, but her feedback is spot on. Much more so than Simon. He's been losing his edge for me in X Factor and AI for some time now.

She was good in the Hollywood rounds, but then they can edit that.

But now we see her live, it's apparent she's a rubbish judge. All the other three are talking with proper music knowledge, making wise suggestions (Kara has been on top form this year, so far the star of season 9), but Ellen just says stuff like "I liked it, you pushed it a bit, but I like you". What are they meant to do with that?!

Hope she is dropped for someone who actually knows their stuff next year. A music producer to replace Simon, and maybe an experienced artist to replace Ellen.

Hate Ellen, would love to see Paula back, or...

Timbaland

That may explain why some people don't like her!

I think she does make some good points but I just find her annoying. It's a bit harsh but I can't help it. There's just something about the way that she speaks that irritates me (yet she seems quite nice in interviews). She's looking hot this year on the plus side and I do agree that she has improved.

Another problem for last year was that she seemed to settle in the middle ground between Paula and Simon (neither as nice nor as nasty). So she was like a less likeable female version of Randy Jackson... and I don't think anyone was crying out for that!

Cowell is 2 different people on Idol and XF, IMO. He totally lost it with his own acts last year. It was unbelievable watching him give 3 standing ovations for all his (mediocre) acts in one night when he had barely managed any in previous years on Idol. But he tends to be better and a hell of a lot meaner on Idol (only one I disagreed with him on this week was the guy that sang Chasing Cars, I didn't actually think it was that good vocally).


One problem which I think she has just now is that the other 3 (all with A&R background) are picking up on some of the rubbish song choices the contestants are making just now (when it should be very easy with no theme). Ellen "I'm a big fan of yours" Degeneres probably doesn't feel as qualified to comment in that area.

I thought she might tell too many jokes or be annoying when it came to the live shows. But I'd never have thought she'd be uncomfortable or struggling for words. Doesn't help that expectations were raised by her stint on Hollywood week.

I think Ellen would have been much better at the audition stages as compared to the live shows. I do like her, but not so much as a judge. I hope she improves

well im going to give her another chance biut it was a bit ropey for the first week

she kept saying i really am a fan of yours but you pushed it too much-to everyone!

you cant just say the same thing and get away with it

maybe she should ask the others for some advice on how to do it

i know u need a bit of light relief but when she started going on about bananas i thought she had gone well-bananas

I think we have to give Ellen a chance. It's only her first week and it can't be easy to give a meaningful critique in front of millions only ten seconds after seeing something. She might improve as the weeks go on.

I like Kara, I think her comments are spot on and at least she can string a sentence together without sounding like a moron, unlike Paula who was always like some crazy drunk.

Randy seems to be making more sense this year too. He is usually all "yo dawg - you got some crazy chops jumping off there..." or whatever.

But really, I don't know what they will do without Simon. I don't know of anyone else who is as sneering and sarcastic but still likeable.

I really like Ellen so far; to me she comes across as offering a layperson's perspective on the acts, the voice of the viewer type of thing. It's refreshing to have her on the panel, and I'm so glad they didn't go for some random dolly bird (as they no doubt would have on X Factor!). I like both her and Kara; I used to like Simon too, but he's turned into a parody of himself these days...