American Idol’s new fresh face

In its nine seasons on air, American Idol has raked in millions of viewers every episode. Created by Simon Fuller, the show is currently the No. 1 show in the Nielsen Ratings and is one of the only three that has been No. 1 for five consecutive seasons, along with All in the Family and The Cosby Show.

The original judges were Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, with a few guest judges and additions along the way. 

Now, the newest and most popular addition to the judges' panel is none other than Ellen DeGeneres.

DeGeneres is most famous for her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, among other appearances
 and sitcoms.

Although DeGeneres has never done anything professional with music, on Sep. 9, 2009 it was confirmed that she would replace Paula Abdul.

As anyone who watches the The Ellen DeGeneres Show knows, Ellen is extremely entertaining and energetic. She begins every show by singing and dancing with the audience to get the crowd going. 

This energetic attitude will be a good parallel to Paula Abdul's extremely outgoing personality, just with less insanity and yelling.

Ellen's first appearance was on Feb. 9, 2009 and everyone could see that she fit right in. Making judges and contestants  laugh, she has easily won over American Idol's audience. Ellen's charisma adds a quirkiness to the show that was needed.

With the alleged resignation of Simon Cowell on the horizon, it is a relief to know that there will still be a judge that can criticize harshly, yet entertain.

She was only allowed to begin after the contestants' auditions, which had American Idol fans on the edge of their seats anticipating her arival to the popular show. 

But fortunately she reportedly signed a contract to be on the show for at least five seasons.

American Idol is on every week on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on Fox 11. Viewers will not be left disappointed.