I actually watch AI, I love seeing talented singers. Ellen has no business on the show though. I might not watch this year.
According to Randy Jackson this is why they chose Ellen to be on American Idol.
I think it was a good choice. And I'm looking forward to watching.
"She's like the voice of the people," Randy explained. "Simon and I and Kara are all music experts, it's what we do. And, I think it's nice to have a voice of the people up there. We may say, you know, 'Those notes are all weird and you didn't sing the melody correctly.' But, you know [Ellen] may say, 'At least it was kind of pleasant.'"
According to Jackson, DeGeneres will bring something new to the show. “There’s so much music industry insider talk with me and Simon [Cowell] and Kara [DioGuardi] that I didn’t think we needed any more of that,” he explained. “Ellen hit it right on the head — I think she could be the voice of the people. It’s like somebody in the home audience watching and going, ‘What would I say [about this contestant]?’ Ellen’s going to be saying it for [them].”