Kara DioGuardi is introduced as the new American Idol judge at Chelsea Piers in New York City on Tuesday.

Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson welcomed the new judge with open arms, as they all walked the red carpet and posed for pictures.

“It’s like, you know, having dinner with three people for seven years, and getting quite bored of each other,” Cowell said. “So it’s having a fourth person, new opinion, I think it’s gonna be interesting.”

“Kara has a good reputation of A, having hits; and B, having an opinion. And that’s a good combination,” Cowell said. “And she’s cute.”

35+ more pics inside of Kara DioGuardi’s new American Idol family…

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Kara DioGuardi has joined American Idol as a fourth judge!

The 37-year-old will sit alongside Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson and use her background as a songwriter/producer in the eighth season of American Idol (premieres January 2009 on FOX). Paula finally gets another female on the panel to pow-wow with!

Kara’s songs, “Cheetah Love” and “I’m the One” most recently appeared in the Disney Channel movie Cheetah Girls 3: One World.

“We are turning the heat up on ‘Idol’ this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges’ table,” said creator and executive producer Simon Fuller. “She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”

For more information on Kara, visit her official website at KaraDioGuardi.com.

Hopefully this is one of the twists AI needs to hook new viewers and keep the old ones!

With the writer’s strike and all, you know there is nothing better on TV tonight than the premiere of American Idol 7 @ 8PM ET/PT on FOX. Tomorrow is part II of the premiere–Wednesday, Jan. 16 @ 8PM ET/PT.

Last season’s ratings were pretty weak and past Idols (Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard) were all dropped from their music labels recently.

But will you be tuning into American Idol tonight?

American Idol returns for its seventh season in a special two-night, four-hour season premiere Tuesday, Jan. 15 @ 8PM ET/PT and Wednesday, Jan. 16 @ 8PM ET/PT on FOX. Set your TiVos now!

The Hollywood round will air on Feb. 12 and the top 24 contestants will be announced on Feb. 13. The first performance episode, featuring the 12 male finalists, will air on Feb. 19, with the 12 female finalists taking the stage the following night. The top 12 finalists will perform for the first time on Tuesday, March 11!

Who will be the next Jordin Sparks… or William Hung? Judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell will be back to help sway your opinion!

BTW, nice new sideburns, dawg!