Kara DioGuardi: Next American Idol Judge Shouldn't Copy Simon Cowell

Kara DioGuardi knows it’s pointless to search for a carbon copy of Simon Cowell for the next season of American Idol. And that may be why Harry Connick Jr. would be a good choice as a replacement.

“No one will ever be Simon … It’s impossible,” DioGuardi, 39, said Friday on Sirius XM radio’s Morning Mash Up program. “He does things that no one has ever done. He’s created this tremendous character who is funny, still has a human side, but is just blatantly honest.”

She added, “What I liked about Harry [as a mentor this past season] is he is put so much time into helping those contestants, and I think he really did help them.”

The idea of potentially not replacing Cowell — of going back to three judges, as it was during first seven seasons — doesn’t sit right with DioGuardi.

“People have gotten used to four judges,” she says. “When I first came on, it was definitely, ‘Oh she’s taking over Paula [Abdul, as the third judge],’ which was not the case. I was never there to take Paula’s position. I do think that [having] four judges works. It’s really about getting someone who has a lot of experience in music to replace Simon.”

Not that Cowell won’t be missed. He most certainly will be. “I always had mad respect for him, and I think he’s really brilliant,” says DioGuardi. “The first year was hard, you know. I was trying to be like ‘Let me in, let me in.’ I was like the outsider. This year, I just enjoyed him so much on the panel, and I thought he was so good to me, very supportive, and I thanked him a lot for that."

Another Singer Heads Home on American Idol

The journey ended for another American Idol contestant Wednesday, following performances by the top five of Frank Sinatra songs on a night mentored by Harry Connick Jr.

Young Blue Eyes is gone.

Aaron Kelly, who went from 16 to 17 in the course of this season, was the one sent home. I’m not sure why voters finally decided against him — or at least not in favor of him — although having to perform an old standard like “Fly Me to the Moon” for Sinatra Week couldn’t have been an advantage. He might as well been dressed as a monk and made to sing Gregorian chant.

But I also never understood how he lasted as long as he did. Boyish likability may have sustained him, as Simon observed Tuesday, while better performers like Siobhan Magnus and even Katie Stevens fell away.

Along with boyish likability was a boyish vulnerability or sadness. Siobhan and Katie never seemed vulnerably sad, either.

Aaron was joined in the bottom two by Michael Lynche, a big, talented performer who nonetheless is slightly smarmy (and was once saved by the judges). That spot probably should have been occupied by Casey James. His performance Tuesday of “Blue Skies,” played without his handy guitar, was probably a season lowpoint. Yet voters rescued him this week, after almost rejecting him last week for a much better performance.

Then again, non-musical factors are always a major Idol element: Michael is punished for being slickly perfect, Casey is rewarded for his sincere, aw-shucks blunder.

For now, Lee DeWyze seems like the clear frontrunner. This seems sensible enough, but it’s not altogether satisfactory: It will make for a very odd finale if he faces off against Crystal Bowersox. You’ll have two good singers who nonetheless act as if they’re ashamed to have gotten their break participating on a show like Idol.

The one highpoint of the long hour was the return of Lady Gaga for a performance of “Alejandro.” Costumed to look like a lacey vampiress (or a moth in couture) and surrounded by writhing male couples, it was another unique performance.

Next week, the Top 4 will be performing songs from the movies with Jamie Foxx doing the mentoring.

New "We Are The World" Has Been Recorded!

We are still the world if Quincy Jones and an all-star squad of contemporary music stars have anything to sing about it.

On Monday, Jones, Lionel Richie and Wyclef assembled what appears to be the entire VIP section from Sunday night's Grammy Awards to re-record the monster selling single, which made $63 Million in sales! Can "We Are The World – 25 For Haiti" bring home that kind of bacon in the Internet Age? In only due time, we will find out.

On Monday night, The Jonas Brothers, T-Pain, Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion, Kanye West, Brian Wilson and dozens of others showed up at Henson Recording Studios, the same studio where the original was recorded 25 years ago.

Last time, the cause was starvation in Africa, in particular the devastating Ethiopian famine of 1984-85. This time it's Haiti, where last month's earthquake killed nearly 200,000 and left as many as 1 million Haitians homeless.

The new line-up of stars performing this incredible hit included Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Harry Connick, Jr., Snoop Dogg, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand (rumor has it she gets a solo), Josh Groban, Usher, and Jeff Bridges.

Along with Bridges, plenty of other A-listers "lend a helping hand" and their voices which will grace the music single and video, directed by Paul Haggis ('Crash,' 'In the Valley of Elah'). The video is set to air on NBC during the Friday, February 12th Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Nicole Richie tweeted her excitement. "I was 4 years old in a studio watching my dad record We Are The World, & today I get to do it again," she wrote Monday afternoon.

The elder Richie spent two weeks in 1985 at Michael Jackson's Encino estate penning the track with the King of Pop. Quincy Jones, who also has a famous daughter involved in the remake – Rashida Jones, produced the song along with Grammy-winning producer Michael Omartian.

As of 2009, 20 million copies of "We Are the World" have been sold, making it the best-selling single of all-time.

No Michael Jackson this time. No Kenny Loggins, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan or Paul Simon either. At least that's the word as of now.

Several stand-ins were present at Monday's shoot whose silhouettes will reportedly be replaced by famous counterparts in post-production.

Could it be that original supergroup members Bette Middler, Dan Akroyd and Cyndi Lauper got a 21st century encore? We think not.

We'll have to wait until February 12th to find out who else performed. Stay tuned!

For your enjoyment, here is the original "We Are The World" video:

Star Sighting: Harry Connick Jr. Shirtless

Harry Connick Jr. enjoyed a weekend soaking in the sun on the posh French West Indies island St. Bart’s with his wife Jill and three daughters — Georgia, 12, Sarah, 11, and Charlotte, 6.

The 41-year-old jazz singer’s family currently resides in New Canaan, CT.

Connick most recently starred in the romantic comedy "New in Town" with Renee Zellweger. His 2008 TV movie, "Living Proof", will be released on DVD on Tuesday, May 5th.