Good news for Kara DioGuardi, who recently said she’s only on “American Idol” for one season: Simon Cowell says he’ll see you next year.
Kara will be back, Cowell told Ellen DeGeneres during a taping of her talk show set to air Tuesday, but he doesn’t love the new (and crowded) four-judge panel.
“There’s less time for us to talk. One week literally we couldn’t talk, so 10 minutes before the show started they said, ‘Oh by the way you can’t talk for half the show,’” Cowell recalled. “It’s rather like saying in a singing competition to the singers, half of you can’t sing. It was just crazy.”
Cowell also took a shot at Ryan Seacrest, saying he’s lost popularity because he comes in on a staircase. “It made him appear more pompous, obnoxious, taking himself a bit seriously,” Cowell said. “You don’t give yourself that type of entrance.”

When DeGeneres joked that perhaps Seacrest could come in on an elevator, Cowell said, “Yeah, but he’d still want it lit — that’s the problem.”
There is one thing that Cowell is happy about this season, the way contestant Adam Lambert is going for it. He told DeGeneres: “I like the fact he’s fearless. He’s not playing it safe. A lot of the people that take part in these shows want to sing ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ every week because it’s a sappy song. He’s got guts.”