"American Idol" to Add Fourth Judge! Susan Lucci to Appear on "Dancing With the Stars"!

Foxthis morning announced the addition of a fourth judge on the upcoming eighth season of American Idol,while ABC revealed the names of the 13 celebrities who will appear on Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars.Here are the details from Fox:

“Grammy-nominated songwriter Kara DioGuardi has joined American Idol as a fourth judge. She will sit alongside Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson at the judges’ table and use her background as an award-winning songwriter and producer to praise or critique the wannabe hopefuls throughout the competition. The eighth season of American Idol premieres January, 2009.

‘We had originally intended for American Idol to have four judges,’ said executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. ‘We’ve seen from our international series that having a fourth judge creates a dynamic that benefits both the contestants and the viewers.’

One of the industry’s most sought after songwriters and producers, DioGuardi’s songs have appeared on more than 100 million records. Her songs have been recorded by Grammy Award-winning artists including Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Santana, and Pink. Scores of major recording artists including Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Pussycat Dolls, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Natasha Bedingfield, Jewel, Ashley Tisdale, Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Enrique Iglesias, Nick Lachey and Marc Anthony have also released DioGuardi’s songs.

Over the last four years, she has been awarded 10 BMI Pop Awards for having written the most performed songs on radio. From her catalog of several hundred songs, over 264 have been released on major labels worldwide; and over 165 have appeared on multi-platinum selling albums. DioGuardi co-owns Arthouse Entertainment, where she develops and mentors fellow hit writers, producers and artists.”

And here are the celebs you’ll see on Dancing with the Stars, beginning with a four-hour season premiere September 22-24: All My Children star and daytime television legend Susan Lucci, Lance Bass of *NSYNC, singer and actress Toni Braxton, actress and reality television host Brooke Burke, chef Rocco DiSpirito, track star and two-time Olympic gold-medal winner Maurice Greene, reality television personality and tabloid princess Kim Kardashian, Oscarand multiple Emmy winner Cloris Leachman (at 82 the oldest competitor in Dancing history), Hannah Montana co-star Cody Linley (at 18, the youngest), beach-volleyball champion and newly minted gold-medal Olympian Misty May-Treanor, actor Ted McGinley, comedian Jeffrey Ross and Super Bowl champion and recently retired defensive tackle Warren Sapp.