CAREER MOVE

Ellen DeGeneres Joins American Idol

Will be Paula Abdul’s permanent replacement.

We all knew she liked to dance—turns out Ellen DeGeneres likes singing, too. The Daytime Emmy-winning talk-show host will be American Idol’s fourth judge in the show’s upcoming ninth season. DeGeneres says she’s watched the show from the beginning. As a fan, “getting this job is a dream come true, and think of all the money I’ll save from not having to text in my vote,” she said in a statement on Wednesday night. DeGeneres will replace Paula Abdul, who left the show amid swirling rumors that the aging pop star was offended by the relative size of her salary compared to megawatt Idol personalities Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest. DeGeneres admits that she has fewer music-industry credentials than her judging peers, but “[h]opefully I’m the people’s point of view, because I’m just like you. I sit at home and I watch it.”