The red carpet has officially been rolled out for new "American Idol" judge Ellen DeGeneres. Following warm wishes from fellow judge Randy Jackson, who said he thinks the comedian will be "hot," and the woman she's replacing, Paula Abdul, DeGeneres got props on Friday (September 11) from another (relative) newbie to the "Idol" judging panel, Kara DioGuardi.

Speaking to Sirius XM's "The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick" on Friday morning, songwriter DioGuardi, who joined "Idol" last year, said she's thrilled to have the talk-show host on board. "I'm a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan," DioGuardi said. "I think she's going to bring so much to the show."

DioGuardi became the controversial fourth judge last year, a move some longtime "Idol" fans questioned and balked at given the well-established chemistry between Jackson, Abdul and perpetually put-off Brit Simon Cowell. But over the course of the season, fans gradually warmed to DioGuardi, whose experience as a performer and songwriter-for-hire for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson helped her give the contestants some concrete advice about their potential careers in the industry. At press time, Cowell had not yet weighed in on the DeGeneres hire.

"She's somebody who loves music. She's positive. She loves kids," DioGuardi said of DeGeneres. "She is somebody who has watched the show from the beginning, knows everything there is to know about 'American Idol,' and I think ultimately it's going to be a great new energy."

Saying she was "thrilled" about the news, DioGuardi revealed that she has not yet spoken to DeGeneres, but was eager to get her e-mail address and congratulate her on the new gig. "I'm so excited to hang out with her," she said. "I've only met her once. I did the show and she was delightful. I'd love to say this is great and let her know I'm completely ecstatic."

If nothing else, DioGuardi said she's overjoyed to no longer be the new kid on the block, especially after the "hellish" time she had on season eight as some fans and bloggers hazed her mercilessly.

"Yeah, I got slagged," she said. "People were ... it was difficult for them to accept the change. It was difficult for them to understand why somebody who nobody had ever heard of could kind of come out of nowhere and sit next to these iconic figures. You know, why was I there, what did I do to deserve to be there? ... I can understand it. To this day, people probably still don't understand what I've done in the music industry or my achievements."

With a year of judging under her belt, DioGuardi predicted season nine will be easier now that she's not as afraid. "For someone who's never been on live television it's very, very challenging to go from the back of the studio to the #1 TV show and that kind of visibility. And it was very, very, very scary," she said.

DeGeneres told Ryan Seacrest on Thursday that she's excited about the opportunity and pledged that she's "not going to be mean," saying she hates it "when Simon's that mean."

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