A revolving door! When American Idol debuted on Fox in 2002, music manager Randy Jackson, choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive Simon Cowell made up the panel of judges.
For the first seven seasons of the show, the trio remained the faces of the series, along with host Ryan Seacrest. (Comedian Brian Dunkleman cohosted the first season only.)At the start of season 8, the judges’ table expanded, with singer-songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi becoming the fourth judge, a seat she kept for two seasons.However, other changes were underway.
Abdul exited ahead of season 9 and was replaced by Ellen DeGeneres for one season. Cowell, for his part, left ahead of season 10.
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