Ellen parting ways with the show is clearly a good idea. She never had anything to say, she's not in the music business (dancing like an idiot on her talk show to the delight of everybody's mom doesn't count) and she just couldn't bring herself to be mean to the contestants, which is the only entertaining thing about Idol anyway. Glad she's leaving, and if it's true that the split really was mutual, I applaud her self-awareness -- she really wasn't good on the show, and it would just be embarrassing if everybody knew that but her. Speaking of Randy Jackson...

What the hell business does that guy have coming back? I hate Kara as much as everybody, but she certainly had keener (if still worthless) insights than Randy Jackson does, and she's prettier to boot. Why dump her and keep him? I know there are secret Seacrest superfans, but are there Randy Jackson-philes hiding in the woodwork? This may sound like a tired and unfunny joke, but I'm serious -- does he have dirt on the show's producers? Is that what's going on here? I'm dumbfounded.

As far as J.Lo joining the panel, I know it sounds stupid, but I'm in love with that idea. That woman is so sad and miserably desperate to be famous again that I think she's going to make for amazing television. And, most importantly, I think she's going to be mean. I doubt she'll be able to resist lashing out at all these new talents putting themselves before her, threatening her with their youth and novelty, wanting what she once had and poised to take up what few spots there are for "Extremely Famous Untalented Singer" in the world before she can even get back in the game. It's going to be an incredibly ugly display of why being famous should be illegal, that's how much it ruins you. And I'm giggling with anticipation.

And I think we can all agree that this Steven Tyler idea is a joke. His face is horrifying, and though he's had a plethora of big hits (I am a lot of things, but an Aerosmith hater I am not, surprisingly), he's not exactly known for being a great speaker. What ever happened to the Bret Michaels idea? He's probably too nice, but the guy's got his charm, you can't deny that. Is David Lee Roth still alive? That would be hilarious, and literally just as random. And if terrifying and inarticulate is what they want, the obvious choice would have been Courtney Love, but they've somehow missed that boat too. There were a million ways they could have gone with this, and Steven Tyler is where they've allegedly landed? Bizarre.

But I don't even know why we're discussing this. The show's dead without Simon, so this will all be moot in one season, two tops.

Get the scoop on how Idol screwed up the judge search, see the case for bringing back Paula Abdul and find out what it's like to audition for the show now.

Watch TWoP's editors discuss the American Idol judging drama in this segment airing on the New York Nonstop cable news channel:

Leave your thoughts on all the Idol musical chairs in the comments, and see our list of dream judges. And our other list of dream judges.