We're live-blogging tonight's "American Idol" episode beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. Join us and let us know what you think of Ellen DeGeneres' first appearance as a judge.

It's the first of four shows dedicated to the "Hollywood round," where 170-some Idol hopefuls is winnowed down to the Top 24 semi-finalists.

Hollywood. Ellen. Hollywood. Need I say more? The news today is that tonight, after three weeks of auditions, celebrity judges and drama over Simon Cowell's impending departure, we finally arrive at Hollywood and the debut of new judge Ellen DeGeneres.

"I'm excited about Ellen, I mean I think she's really fun, you know she's interesting, exciting," said American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

According to reports, Ellen is enjoying her new job. "I like all of it except for the parts where we're eliminating people right now, and you know, here's the thing, they feel like we're crushing their dreams," said DeGeneres.

How will she fit in? It remains to be seen, but everyone knows that chemistry (or lack thereof) is everything. The very future of the show depends on it. So, will Ellen clash with Simon? Will she be funny? Compassionate like Paula Abdul? Irrelevant like Kara DioGuardi?

Take a look at Ellen in the latest promo video and tell me what you think.

Of course, this is a singing competition, right? Enough about the judges. There are some great singers to look for tonight and you can find a thorough recap of who's who here or check out the video interviews on the "Idol" website here.

More random items:

• Can't wait for the show? Follow our live blogging here at 5 p.m. Pacific, 8 p.m. Eastern.

• According to this story, Kimberley Locke will headline Seattle PrideFest on June 27.

• Kris Allen's AOL Session videos have finally been posted. And Allison Iraheta's too (and she rocks!).

Soon after Danelle Hayes finished her audition on last Tuesday night's "American Idol," the buzz started to rise on the Web that the 24-year-old from Seattle was a contender. The judges gave her a coveted "golden ticket," meaning that she had made it to the "Hollywood round" of the popular reality-TV singing contest.

Said one person on Twitter: "I am 1000000% positive Danelle Hayes from Seattle Washington is the Next American Idol! Period."

Not so fast. Her run on the show officially ended with that golden ticket.

Nicole Gonzalez, a spokesperson for "American Idol," confirmed Monday that Hayes did not, in fact, compete in the Hollywood round, which was taped a few weeks ago and airs beginning Tuesday night on Channel 13. Gonzales indicated it was their policy to not comment any more than that.

When reached midday Monday, Hayes said she contractually was not allowed to talk about the show

So with everyone being mum, it's pure speculation why Hayes didn't continue to pursue her dream in Hollywood. And the news will be disappointing for Seattle fans who might have been looking to cheer on a local favorite.

On the official "American Idol" Web site, there's a section with 172 "golden ticket interviews," but Hayes is not among those video profiles.

At long last, it's time for the real American Idol to begin. Between the grand debut of Ellen DeGeneres and whittling it down to people who can actually sing, now I can get excited to watch the show. With all due respect to Guitar Girl and Bikini Boy, I am ever-so-grateful that auditions are over.

While reality show experts were making their lists and checking them twice, they found a well-polished stone that has slipped through the cracks. TMZ says Italian chanteuse Nicci Nix has been on multiple shows using slightly different voices. We'll see how she does in Hollywood.

Simon's Cowell replacement watch continues. Rumors continue to swirl around the idea of Howard Stern slithering into that snakeskin seat. But Stern addressed the idea on his radio show today and made it clear he won't come cheap, that's for sure. He says "They'd have to pay me a ton of dough because I already make a ton of dough. A hundred million dollars to judge a karaoke contest? Yeah, I would do that show for $100 million." Maybe it's just me, but the moment Howard Stern joins the panel is the moment I become a FORMER American Idol viewer. Would you still watch?

Carrie Underwood really rocked the white as she belted out the national anthem at the Super Bowl. I kinda think her outfit looks like a modern-day take on something Elvis would wear, but she's hot enough to pull it off.

I've been following some of my favorite Idols on twitter and this one is still cracking me up. From the delightfully blond Kellie Pickler:
"just dropped my iphone in the %@!*^#ing toilet!!!!!!....AGAIN!!!! @#$%(*(#@&UR(@(WEF(($#$(@()#*&%(@)!_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
it was followed shortly by:
"just got a brand new phone. hopefully I'll have better luck with this one."
Yes, let's hope so.

Also from the twitter files, appears that Josh Gracin is hoping to collaborate with Kim Caldwell on a new rock ballard called Only When It Rains.
conversation: @_kimcaldwell / @joshgracin

Thank goodness for the end of auditions! My head is swimming in names, facts and figures and it hurts now. Let's get through Hollywood so I can jettison all this deadwood and start ranking the real contestants.

As I've written before, in these first four weeks, I'll be rounding up the contestants that we know have made it beyond the initial audition. Until this first round is over, I'll be sorting the contestants into groups depending on how far I predict they will get on the show. As weeks go by, I'll move contestants up and down as we add new players.

Starting next week I will knock this list down to a top 24 and actually rank the performers.

I don't surf the internet looking for Hollywood Week spoilers. My ratings will be based strictly upon what I see with my own two eyes on the FOX broadcasts each week.

Stats after Week 4:
Total trips to Hollywood awarded: 181
Total contestants featured on TV: 77

Without further ado, here's my prediction of the finish of all 77 contestants we've seen so far. (Contestants new this week have a *).

Potential Finalists (12 will make it):

• *Lacey Brown (pictured at right) - Another one who has been to Hollywood before, she seems to have used the last year to her advantage. A very strong and confident audition; this should be her year.


• *Didi Benami - Great volume control, every note was in sync, a unique sound. Can't wait to hear her again.


• *Aaron Kelly - An amazing voice and story for a 16-year-old. Chose a great song and hit a home run. Humble, with a great attitude.


• Andrew Garcia - Garcia has a great back story that will have America rooting for him. His voice and range really stood out among those we've heard so far. If he can bring some stage presence to go along with the package we've seen so far, look out ladies.


• Erica Rhodes - This former child-actor-singer that was previously featured on "Barney and Friends" has a decent chance. Although her audition bordered on outrageous, her voice and confidence can't be discounted. She'll need to prove that she's not a sideshow, but if she can do that she could make a splash.


• Jermaine Purifory - Handsome and young, Purifory has plenty of dynamic range. Judge Randy Jackson said, "Best I've heard this audition season." Although he failed to qualify on Season 7, he'll make the most of his opportunity this time. He sang an old school song for the audition, it will be interesting to see what he sounds like with a more modern song.


• Justin Williams - This guy has it all: great voice, pop star looks, made-for-TV backstory. His previous experience with Hollywood in Season 8 should give him a leg up moving on this year.


• Ashley Rodriguez - Beautiful, expressive, and the pipes of a diva. Tackled a nearly untouchable song in her audition and nailed it.

Ahead of us is "Hollywood Week" on "American Idol." Hollywood is known as a place where dreams come true — but not this week for a majority of the Idol hopefuls.

Around 170 or so golden tickets were given out, but only 24 make it through to the live shows. Thus, if my rusty math is right, over 140 shattered egos will wander back to their lives. Basically, the whole week is a textbook example on how to torture a large group of people.

Idol has messed around with the format over the years, so I'm a little hazy as to what will happen. I think that last year they ditched the mass annihilation part where they sorted them into two rooms. One room keeps going through the week and the other is summarily axed. Too bad, because that was my favorite part of the week — seeing the contestants' faces when they saw who else was sitting next to them and the shock of realization that they are in the wrong room. "Wait, she can't sing. Why is she in the same room as me. Oh...."

Regardless, they likely still kept the part of the week where everyone is split into groups and forced to sing together in harmony. This is almost too cruel as everyone stays up all night, then finds out that the other singers in their group either hate them or ditched them for another group. During the performance, each person is trying to out-sing the others and "accidentally" mess up the song when their "teammates" are soloing.

Of course, we will have the final day where the judges continue inflicting pain on the broken singers as they make them squirm in an uncomfortable chair while their fate is slowly revealed to them. Simon particularly likes to draw this part out, like a cat toying with a gutted mouse. "I'm sorry ... but you've got live with us a little longer. You're on to the next round." Only in Hollywood can someone be so cruel and still have thousands of people wanting to be similarly tortured by him year after year.

Five things you are sure to see during the Hollywood round of "Amercian Idol," spread over the next two weeks:

1. Simon Cowell will compare someone's performance to a Portuguese night club. No, that's not a good thing.

2. Someone will forget the lyrics to a song every high school choir has performed. It always happens, sometimes in spectacular fashion. Deer in the headlights, anyone?

3. If you think a contestant's audition was annoying, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Any shred of likability that was there will be blown to smithereens by the Idol producers. Sadly, the most annoying one will make the Top 24. It's in the rules. Really.

4. More than one teenage contestant will be shown crying, running up the aisle after being axed. We won't remember their names or where they are from. Half will return in Season 10. We still won't remember them.

5. Sleep will be in short supply. Therefore, there will be a fight and an obnoxious amount of whining when one singer needs sleep and her group-sing partners need practice. That sound you'll hear will be me, banging my head against the wall, begging them to just. Shut. Up.

There's a great drama unfolding online between Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift's management over a perceived "diss" made earlier this week. It all started Sunday night at the Grammys where Swift nabbed four awards, including the much-coveted album of the year award. She also sang an off-key duet with Stevie Nicks which was subsequently panned by major media outlets.

Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, defended his client's uneven performance with these dismissive comments: "This is not 'American Idol'... This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note."

Clarkson, who won "American Idol" in 2002 (in part because she hits those high notes), shot back in her blog:

...you know what, we not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the 'right' notes as well. Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better.

Other big news online today suggests that "Idol" producers want radio personality Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell. An unnamed source has told the New York Post that "Idol" is "one of the few shows that could compete with Stern's $100 million-a-year Sirius contract, and 'Idol' bosses think he'd be even nastier than Simon." Would you watch Stern? What do you think?

And finally, Fox has released a tiny sneak peak of Ellen DeGeneres sitting at the judges' table. It's a very short clip (are they teasing us?), but shows the newest judge in Hollywood. Hit play below:

For more Ellen, watch this 30-minute Katie Couric interview released earlier this week where she talks candidly about life, love and being the newest "American Idol" judge.

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