American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi recently talked about Hollywood Week on a press call. After completing a second season of Hollywood auditions, Kara shared her perspective on the Season 9 Hollywood Week experience.

Hollywood Week auditions saw the addition of Ellen DeGeneres to the judges’ panel. Kara commented on Ellen saying, “She had a really good handle on whether a contestant had potential, whether they had a star quality. She knew if something was off in the vocals or in their performance, and I thought she delivered the message with kindness, but also had criticism in there.”

The addition of Ellen also means that Kara’s not the new girl any longer, and she’s feeling good about her second season on American Idol. “I’m definitely more relaxed and more comfortable because I’m a little bit more used to being [on] TV,” Kara stated. “Every time we had an audition city there was a new judge. With Hollywood Week, we had Ellen. So I just wanted to kind of keep open to everything and just be in the moment and try to be the best judge I could be.” She said it was scary to go from a behind-the-scenes songwriter to judging talent in front of 30 million people. “I think that people thought I was very serious last year, like I didn’t maybe have a sense of humor. I feel like I do, that actually I’m more of a goofball than probably anybody on that panel.” Perhaps Ellen will bring out Kara’s goofy side too.

As you could probably tell from watching Hollywood Week, many of the contestants took risks and changed up songs. Kara mentioned, “I think that people were interpreting songs from the get-go in audition week. They weren’t just singing them the way they were sung by the people who originally recorded them. They were kind of taking some risks, and I like that...that’s definitely a sign of good artists when they do something unique and different with material.” Another big trend this season has been contestants who can play a musical instrument. Kara said that musicians always feel more comfortable when they sing with their instrument. “They need that. It’s part of who they are, and it’s part of their performance, and when you take it from them they feel lost, so enabling them to bring that guitar or bring that piano into the Hollywood Week just shows you a different side of them.”

What was the biggest mistake contestants made during Hollywood Week? “It’s definitely song choice,” Kara shared. “It’s that they take on something that’s way too big for them, or they go through the audition rounds and we praise them and say how great they are, and then they decide to completely change when they get to Hollywood Week…that and the fact that they stand on that stage, and they can’t fill it up. They can’t perform. They can’t project.”

With a new judge on the panel, Kara said, “I think the dynamic will develop over the season. I think that’s what’s going to make it such an exciting season that it’s very unpredictable. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m just very excited to see it through and find a great winner.”

Add Kara as a friend on MyIdol by clicking on the “Add to Friend” button under her portrait on her bio page.