American Idol: Ellen de Generes OUT, Jennifer Lopez IN?

Fox just made it official: Ellen DeGeneres' much-criticized tenure as the fourth judge on "American Idol" has sputtered to an end after just one season. I sort of liked her there. It's too bad that Simon Cowell also left just recently.

American Idol must be trying to get out of a rut, given nine seasons? That's a long time to keep momentum though. They've managed to get this far. They must be running on profit already.

Remaining judges will be Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. They'll have to find another demon judge to be as blunt and entertainingly hateful as Simon Cowell. Rumor is Jennifer Lopez is about to join the gang, her music experience is okay I guess. But how good she is at being candid I'm not so sure.

This will have to be an exercise in re-energizing and rebranding the show. Good luck!