Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi says she thinks Ellen DeGeneres displayed a good handle of judging on her first show Tuesday night.

Of course, she brings a sense of humor to the show, but Kara said Ellen also knows more about music than most people give her credit for.

One thing viewers have to remember is that the episodes are edited, Kara said.

“So my experience in Hollywood week is very different from what you’re seeing,” Kara said during a Wednesday morning conference call with the media.

She said Ellen showed a good knack at spotting “whether a contestant had potential, whether they had a star quality. She knew is something was off in the vocals or a performance. And I thought she delivered the message with kindness, but also had some criticism in there.”

That said, she declined to give Ellen a grade, simply saying “she did great.”

And she absolutely refused to compare Ellen to Paula.

“You can’t really compare Paula and Ellen,” she said. “They’re completely different. I think they both bring something valuable to the table.”