Idol’s New Judge Kara DioGuardi: ‘I’m a Lucky, Lucky Girl’

Source: PEOPLE
American Idol
Idol’s New Judge Kara DioGuardi: ‘I’m a Lucky, Lucky Girl’
August 25, 2008
Put to rest the notions of an American Idol shakeup, Kara DioGuardi told reporters during a conference call Monday, hours after FOX announced that the songwriter and producer will join the show as a judge.

DioGuardi, a music industry powerhouse, has penned and produced hits for Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera (to name a few). She will meet up for the first time with Idol’s original judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul on Tuesday for the New York auditions of the upcoming season, which will air on FOX in January 2009.

Does Abdul, Idol’s lone female for seven seasons, feel threatened? DioGuardi doesn’t think so.

“I haven’t spoken to her. I would think she’d be excited,” DioGuardi said, noting that she and Abdul collaborated on the Kylie Minogue hit “Spinning Around” in 2000.

Fans who were surprised with the announcement that Idol will add another judge are not alone. “I almost fell off the chair,” DioGuardi said of hearing from the show’s producers, who approached her for the gig and are hoping to create “a new chemistry as well as keeping the old” with the expansion of the judges’ panel.

DioGuardi told reporters she doesn’t know where she’ll sit or how four judges will break a tie during the auditions.

“I’m a little nervous,” admitted DioGuardi, who said her approach to judging is simple. “I’m going to be a straight shooter and say it like I see it and maintain that philosophy.”

So is she more of a Paula or a Simon? “I’m somebody who’s really honest and gives an opinion,” she said. “If I feel I need to be hard, I will be. And if I feel I need to be more nurturing, I will be.”

One thing DioGuardi will have to get used to is being recognized. While she’s known as one of the best in the music business, “I’m not a household name,” she said. “I’m putting some money into buying some makeup.” – Monica Rizzo

John on Breakup with Jen: There Was No Lying, No Cheating

Source: PEOPLE
Though John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston were decidedly mum about their romance, the singer is opening up about their breakup.

"There's no lying, there's no cheating, there's no nothing," Mayer told reporters about his split with Aniston after working out at an Equinox Gym in New York's SoHo neighborhood.

If anything Mayer had only praise for his ex, saying: "Jennifer Aniston is the smartest, most sophisticated person I think I have ever met."

So what went wrong? "People are different, people have different chemistry," said Mayer, who appeared emotional, nervous and sad. "I ended a relationship to be alone, because I don't want to waste somebody's time if something's not right."

Sources confirmed that the duo, whose whirlwind romance began in April, mutually decided to split earlier this week.

Since the breakup, Aniston and Mayer have settled into their separate lives on different sides of the country.

Glamour Fall Trend: Mary Jane Shoes are all grown up

Source: Glamour Magazine
Your old-school Mary Janes are all grown up. The deep color and gold hardware look so rich that no one will believe you only paid $70 for these.

Bakers shoes, $70

Star Bright Blake Lively

ET's Glam Squad: Blake Lively grabs some attention in this orange gown at the premiere for 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.'

5.8 quake shakes Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A strong earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, causing buildings to sway and triggering some precautionary evacuations. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas.

The 11:42 a.m. quake was initially estimated at 5.8 but was revised downward to magnitude-5.4, said seismologist Kate Hutton of the U.S. Geological Survey office in Pasadena. More than a dozen aftershocks quickly followed, the largest estimated at magnitude-3.8.


QUAKE: Centered near Chino Hills, felt in San Diego, Vegas
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Earthquake details
YOUR REPORT: Tell and show us what you see and hear

The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near the San Bernardino County city of Chino Hills, and the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake was about 8 milesbelow the earth's surface.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: San Diego | Las Vegas | Southern California | Pacific | Anaheim | Pasadena | Orange County | Los Angeles County | Disneyland | Marriott | Power | Mojave Desert | San Bernardino County | Steve Whitmore | Northridge | Brian Humphrey | Department of Water | Chino Hills | Kim Hughes | Monterey Park | Kate Hutton
"It will certainly cause cracked plaster and broken windows, but probably not structural damage," Hutton said.

The magnitude-5.9 Whittier Narrows quake in 1987 was the last big shake in that area. That quake heavily damaged older buildings and houses in communities east of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury in Los Angeles. San Bernardino and San Diego counties also had no immediate reports of damage.

Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds.

Workers quickly evacuated some office buildings.

"It was dramatic. The whole building moved and it lasted for a while," said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore, who was in the sheriff's suburban Monterey Park headquarters east of Los Angeles.

California is one of the world's most seismically active regions. More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Southern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt.

As strongly as it was felt, the quake was far less powerful than the magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake that badly damaged the region on Jan. 17, 1994. That quake was the last damaging temblor in Southern California. It killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused $25 billion in damage in the metropolitan area.

No electrical outages were reported in Los Angeles due to the quake, said Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Kim Hughes.

In Orange County, about 2,000 detectives were attending a conference on gangs at a Marriott hotel in Anaheim when a violent jolt shook the main conference room.

Mike Willever, who was at the hotel, said, "First we heard the ceiling shaking, then the chandelier started to shake, then there was a sudden movement of the floor."

Chris Watkins, from San Diego, said he previously felt several earthquakes, but "that was one of the worst ones."

Delegates and guests at a cluster of hotels near the Disneyland resort spilled into the streets immediately after the quake.

The damage created by an earthquake depends greatly on where it hits. A 7.1 quake — much stronger than Northridge — hit the Mojave Desert in 1999 but caused only a few injuries and no deaths.
Source: USA Today

DIANE KRUGER in Acne Jeans

inStyle's pick of the day:
Diane Kruger tried on a casual look at the L.A. premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The actress was low-key in Acne jeans with an American Apparel T-shirt, an H&M scarf and a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch.

GOLD - Must have items for 24-karat fun!

The Olympics are coming so go for the gold! Style.com's Candy Pratts Price gives her picks of some glam items to burnish your style:


Gold Flakes Supreme
Premium French vodka with 24K gold flakes Price: $73

Roger Vivier Haute Couture
One-of-a-kind sandal in crocodile layered with gold leaf and black curled feathers and sprinkled with jet Swarovski.

Erickson Beamon Gold-leaf cuff Price: $525

Christian Louboutin Donjon over-the-knee boot Price: $1,175

Francisca Botelho Hamsa and Evil Eye escapulario Price: $650

Gara Danielle Clustered bead hoop earrings Price: $110