New ‘Idol’ judge wants to work with Daughtry

LOS ANGELES  — New “American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi has a full schedule but there’s someone she’d take a phone call from — Chris Daughtry.

“If he’s out there and he wants to do a (song) co-write, please call me,” DioGuardi told a teleconference Thursday.

DioGuardi is a songwriter-producer who’s worked with other “American Idol” contestants and is on the judging panel for the Fox TV show’s eighth season, which starts Tuesday. But she’s yet to collaborate with best-selling rocker Daughtry, who tops her “Idol” wish list.

Daughtry was a fourth-place finisher on the show and has turned out Grammy-nominated hits with the band that bears his name.

DioGuardi said she loved working with inaugural “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson, calling her a “feisty” performer who puts her personality into a song and can tackle any material successfully.

Although she’s worked extensively with “Idol” contestants, DioGuardi said she never imagined she would be asked to join TV’s No. 1 show, and compared it to hitting the lottery. But it jibes with what she’s done as a writer-producer helping to guide young singers, she said.

DioGuardi’s also worked with many of music’s biggest stars, including Celine Dion, Marc Anthony and Gwen Stefani.

During auditions for the new season, DioGuardi said she was especially impressed by five or so of the male singers.

She heard a “lot of soul influence” among the contestants, a style that DioGuardi said wasn’t necessarily R&B but “the way Maroon 5 is soulful.”

After filming the audition episodes that kick off the season, DioGuardi was able to report that she and longtime judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson get along just fine.

“It’s very pleasant; there was never any weirdness. They were very accepting of me,” DioGuardi said.

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She then obliged with a pocket description of her new colleagues.

“Paula has a lot of heart. Simon pretty much tells it like it is. Sometimes he can be pretty harsh but he’s usually right. And Randy’s, just, he’s the diplomat,” she said.

And how would DioGuardi describe herself?

Viewers will see someone who is opinionated but “coming from a good place” and trying to help contestants find the best in themselves, she said.