How Will Ellen Do on "Idol"?

(CBS)  Fans are still buzzing over the announcement that Ellen DeGeneres will be the new judge on "American Idol," replacing singer Paula Abdul. But some people are wondering if she's qualified to critique musical talent.

Two former participants, Taylor Hicks, who won season five, and Bucky Covington, who finished eighth last year, shared their thoughts on "The Early Show" Friday about the selection of DeGeneres and the prospect of a new season with her on the judging panel.

Hicks said DeGeneres' jokes will definitely be better than fellow judge Simon Cowell's.

(Will Ellen do a good job? You can cast your vote by clicking here.)

Covington, a DeGeneres fan, agreed, saying, "I think it would be great to have someone call Simon out on his corny jokes."

"I think it's going to be great," Hicks said. "I think she bring as lot of entertainment value to the show. I think that she's a great personality, and she might have a little bit of more of a musical chop than we think she does."

He added that despite her lack of musical training, her involvement in the entertainment industry will be her strength.

"I think the panel of judges represent the music industry very well," he said. "And I think with Ellen you you get kind of an all-around entertainer. And I definitely can identify with that."

Will "Idol" Fans Accept Ellen?

Covington pointed out that DeGeneres and the rest of the judges aren't even the final say in who wins -- the people are by their voting calls to the show. Covington used himself as an example, saying he heard "loud and clear" from Cowell that Cowell didn't like country music, but Covington still advanced in the competition, due to his support from viewers.

Hicks joked, "We need to get Simon (Cowell) and Ellen in a singing competition and determine which has the best musical quality."

Covington said, "I'm going to say my vote would be on Ellen."

The next season of "American Idol" starts in January.

[lucilioness]

ELLEN WILL BE FINE ON IDOL. SHE'S MUSICAL, FUNNY AND SENSITIVE. JUST LIKE PAULA! APPARENTLY, THE PRODUCERS OF IDOL WANTED PAULA TO QUIT BY OFFERING HER A THE SAME ****** CONTRACT. IT'S A SHAME THAT IN 2009, WOMEN ARE STILL EXPECTED TO DO THE SAME JOB AS MEN, AND BE PAID LESS MONEY! KARA DIOWHATEVER NEEDS TO GO. SHE'S ANNOYING, A WASTE OF TIME, AND HER ONLY REAL GOAL, IS TO BECOME A SINGER. DON'T EVEN THINK IT, DIO! I'LL MISS PAULA, BUT I WELCOME ELLEN. I JUST HOPE ELLEN STAYS PROFESSONAL, AND DOESN'T TRY TO INTERJECT TOO MUCH OF HER COMEDY STAGE ACT ON IDOL.

[yuperoo]

Oh the guy who said that taylor shouldn't have won...HE DID! jealous, much?

[mantb11]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Ellen and think her show is probably the best daytime show aired today, but ..... Come On! Idol went wrong last season bring in Kara and did even worse letting Paula go. Just when I thought they could do no more damage - THEY DID! Ellen does not bring credibility to the show. The producers are using her to try to improve the falling ratings and to try to offset the downward strial the expect their ratings to take without Paula. I really do not think the producers or FOX knew how many of the Idol fans felt about Paula and just were too proud or too arogant to try to rectify their mistake. Ellen is their way of trying to save the ratings. Will she be entertaining - yes. Should she be their - No.

[pw08-2009]

Ellen is stoked because now she has an even bigger audience to expouse her Gay Agenda items to. YOU WATCH...she'll make funny little quips here and there in support of Gay this or Gay that and then one day take a serious stand for something Gay....It will happen, it's just a matter of time and that's not cool...

[PaddysPub]

They tried kath - but Carrot top wasn't available : (

[kath789456]

What were they thinking!!!! They should have someone who is at least entertaining.

[erasmus111]

"Former American Idol contestants Taylor Hicks and Bucky Covington spoke highly of the choice of Ellen Degeneres as the new judge on American Idol."


Taylor Hicks.....ummm, yeah, there's somebody that should NEVER have won American Idol.

[HGOODGUY]

Isn't it great to read "critic reviews" before the performance??

[scrabblequeenbe]

Another reason not to watch AI. NCIS is going to rule the ratings this year. Oh Happy day!! This is becoming a show for gays.

[cvanoff]

There's certainly nothing wrong with that....

[cvanoff]

Get over your homophobia, people. Life goes on, with or without your approval!

[scrabblequeenbe]

Not forever.

[pw08-2009]

Yeah but we don't have to buy approval from the judges like you do.