American Idol 2010 | Season 9

When the news broke last night that Ellen DeGeneres would be replacing Paula Abdul as a judge on 'American Idol,' my reaction was ... what a terrible idea.

Don't get me wrong: Love Ellen DeGeneres. Love her. She is a great host, comedian and entertainer. But she's completely wrong for 'Idol,' and here's why ...

Fox has announced recently-departed judge Paula Abdul will be replaced by comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Get more details and watch her video message at Inside TV.

It was the tweet heard 'round the world.

Last night, Paula Abdul announced she was leaving 'American Idol' via Twitter: "With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to #IDOL."

Fox confirmed her departure, stating the network was "saddened" but wished her the best. While fellow judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi have yet to comment, host Ryan Seacrest tweeted that he couldn't "imagine the panel without" her.

Wait ... hold the phone, er, Twitter. Is this really happening? Because if Paula truly does not return to 'American Idol,' the show will be ruined. It's done.

Paula is an integral part of the show -- and Fox is stupid to let her go. Here are five reasons why 'Idol' will never be the same after Paula's departure ...

Simon Cowell is asking 'American Idol' to "show me the money" when his contract expires at the end of next season ... and the TV juggernaut just might do it.

The Guardian is reporting that Cowell, who already makes $36 million a year for judging 'Idol,' might get a huge salary bump -- up to $144 mil. According to "a source close to [Simon] Fuller" (the show's creator), "[Cowell] has already been offered three to four times the $36 million he was paid for 'American Idol' in 2008 -- but then, he is the most important person on the show and the series makes $900 million a year and attracts audiences of 25 million."

The fab four of 'American Idol' is staying intact.

RadarOnline.com reports that all four 'American Idol' judges will be returning for season 9 of the juggernaut reality series.

In recent weeks, Paula Abdul, whose contract expired, has openly talked about negotiating her new deal. She told David Letterman on the June 4 'Late Show' that she was "not sure" whether she'd sign a new contact. No wonder Paula's been playing hardball -- if the salary figures revealed by the L.A. Times' Idol Tracker blog are true, then Paula was only making a fraction of what Simon Cowell earns.

Kris Allen just won season 8, but 'American Idol' is already gearing up to find its next star. Season 9 auditions kick off June 12 in Boston.

The auditions will be held in:
• Boston Gillette Stadium: June 12-14
• Atlanta Georgia Dome: June 16-18
• Los Angeles Rose Bowl: June 28-30
• Orlando Arena: July 7-9
• Denver Mile High: July 12-14
• Chicago: To be announced
• Dallas: To be announced

Nice guys do finish first.

'American Idol' winner Kris Allen even told viewers that the runner-up, Adam Lambert, deserved the title. And he really meant it. The 23-year-old spoke to reporters and reiterated his statement, and also talked about how fame will affect his very new marriage, what Paula said to him after the show and whether he'll make a country album.

Even 'American Idol' winner Kris Allen thinks runner-up Adam Lambert "deserved" the title. But despite the outrage from his fans, the one-time favorite isn't dwelling on the loss.

The 27-year-old singer/actor from Los Angeles spoke to reporters about Kris' victory, his buzzed-about fashion choices, the criticism that he was too theatrical and of course -- the question on everybody's mind -- whether his sexual orientation hurt him in the competition.

Sure, almost 100 million votes were cast by America to determine the winner of 'Idol' -- but exactly what percentage of those votes did Kris and Adam respectively get? We definitely noticed Ryan Seacrest was hush-hush on the subject (last year, he told us that David Cook beat Archuleta by 12 million votes).

So does that mean Kris ran away with it? We're thinking yes. On Twitter, 'Access Hollywood' Billy Bush claimed, "Source at the top says Votes were NOT close on idol. IE kris blew out adam lambert."

And MJ's Big Blog found a report from an Arkansas Fox affiliate that 38 million votes came from that state (and it's fair to assume most, if not all, of them were for Kris).

The dark horse surged ahead at the last minute to win it in a photo finish.

With almost 100 million votes tallied, Kris Allen defeated front-runner and judges' favorite Adam Lambert to become the 'American Idol' season 8 winner.

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