Ellen DeGeneres to Judge American Idol

Holy Christmas in September! Ellen DeGeneres has announced that she'll be filling Paula Abdul's recently vacated judge's seat on American Idol. "I don't know how it happened myself, but I have not missed one episode of that show," she said on her talk show yesterday afternoon. "I love everything about it and I love music, as you know. Hopefully, I'm the people's point of view, because I'm just like you."

She assured her talk show viewers that she wouldn't be leaving them high and dry. "I'm going to have a day job and a night job," she said. "The times we're living ... in, we're all doing that." Stars -- they're just like us, only married to Portia de Rossi.

Sources say she's inked a five-year deal with American Idol, and simultaneously renewed her talk show contract through 2014.

Previously: Flying Phallus: 1. Adam Lambert: 0

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