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No longer the new kid on the block, Kara DioGuardi was more than happy to offer her expert opinion on American Idol's latest hire.

"I'm a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan," the "thrilled" songwriter raved during an interview airing Friday on Sirius XM's The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick. "I think she's going to bring so much to the show."

"She's somebody who loves music, she's positive, she loves kids...She is somebody who has watched the show from the beginning, knows everything there is to know about American Idol, and I think ultimately it's going to be a great new energy."

So how does DioGuardi feel now that the spotlight has shifted away from her, and what she meant for Paula Abdul's future on the show, to the actual future of the show?

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Count Ellen DeGeneres among those shocked by Fox's announcement that she would be permanently filling Paula Abdul's infamously vacated American Idol seat.

Though, to be fair, she did have a (tiny) bit more warning as to the prime-time development than the rest of us. And that includes Ryan Seacrest.

The talk show host turned reality judge told the Idol ringmaster on his morning radio show that making yesterday's shock announcement was "really exciting, 'cause this has been going on for a few weeks just quietly. I wasn't sure if you knew; I thought you'd call me or something…"

"They didn't even ask me to be a guest judge," DeGeneres said of the unexpected job offer. "It just went straight to 'Would you like to be…'"

But don't expect the new opinion-wielder to try and replace everyone's favorite rambling sycophant.

"I hope Paula is OK with it," said DeGeneres, who in addition to not talking to Abdul about her new gig has also so far refrained from speaking to Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson or Kara DioGuardi. "I don't want anybody to think that I took Paula's job away."

Now why would they think a crazy thing like that?

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American Idol's Kara DioGuardi isn't just a new judge. She's a newlywed!

The talent competition's freshest face married general contractor Mike McCuddy Sunday in Prospect Harbor, Maine, E! News confirms.

The sun was shining as the 38-year-old producer-singer-songwriter walked down the aisle at United Methodist Church. The bride wore a strapless, mermaid-style Vera Wang confection as nearly 30 friends and family members looked on.

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No boundaries? Not for newly crowned American Idol Kris Allen. Or even Adam Lambert, despite (or, depending on who you ask, because of) his second-place finish in last night's finale.

While neither winner nor runner-up seemed as thrilled or outraged as their respective fan bases over America's choice of a new Idol, the emotional floodgates inched open this morning. The final two, along with judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi and last year's winner David Cook, opened up about the show's outcome, the ever-sappy winner's single and, yes, the Danny Factor to Ryan Seacrest—who let loose with what's sure to be a controversial opinion of his own.

"I was numb, I was totally numb, I had no idea what to feel," Allen told Seacrest on his radio show this morning. "Adam deserves this as much as I do. It was crazy, I never thought this would happen."

It seems the winner's incredulity didn't stop when the cameras did. Neither did the mutual lovefest between Allen and his one-time Idol roommate.

"I told him, I was like, 'You deserve this,' and he was like, 'No, you deserve this.' We love each other, man. We've been friends ever since the Top 36, we were in group two together, and we both made it. I'm really proud of him, and I know that he's really proud of me as well."

And while Allen said he wants "definitely to do the pop singer-songwriter thing" with his career, it will take some time for his reality coronation to sink in. He said he has "not at all" processed his win.

Failing to process right along with him is the angry Adam faction—of which, it should be noted, Lambert himself is not one.

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Nigel Lythgoe may not be involved with American Idol anymore, but that doesn't keep him from sharing his opinions.

The former A.I. executive producer—and current E.P. and judge on So You Think You Can Dance—doesn't think too highly of the singing contest's decision to take on a fourth judge.

"I think Kara DioGuardi has done a great job as the fourth judge—I just don't like four judges," he tells E! News. "Problem is, when you're live, if you do any more than three judges, then the judges start to take over the show, which doesn't help anyone."

As for how Idol will conclude, Lythgoe feels the series has a strong pair in both Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, and their audiences could be pretty split.

"My feeling is Adam will take it, but I think it's going to be a lot closer than everyone thinks," he says.

The fifth season of SYTYCD high-kicks off Thursday on Fox, while auditions for the sixth cycle—set to air in the fall—are already under way.

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Kara DioGuardi may be sitting in judgment of others these days, but she also has a history of being extremely hard on herself.

Describing a time in her life before her music-biz success helped shape the woman you see today, the newest American Idol judge talked to Extra about battling an eating disorder some years ago.

"I've never spoken about this," the 38-year-old songwriter-producer said in a recent interview. "I had kind of a binge eating disorder where, instead of dealing with my emotions, I would stuff them down with food."

"I never threw up or starved myself," DioGuardi continued. But she would get up to eat in the middle of the night and, eventually, she sought treatment for what ailed her.

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Ever since the addition of Kara DioGuardi at the American Idol judges table was announced, speculation has mounted that the fourth judge's presence implies a potential Paul Abdul departure.

To hear producers tell it, though, they were just looking for ways to change up the show.

But in an interview on Nightline airing Thursday, the "Forever Your Girl" singer does little to dispel the myth.

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