During American Idol 8, the producers made an idiotic decision. Yes, there were many stupid decisions made, but the worst was to vote people in to the top 12, unlike the previous 4 seasons where contestants were voted out. Voting people out gave America time to know the contestants and didn't let boring people into the top 12 based on one performance (see: Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver). Well, a Variety article that quotes Mike Darnell, Fox alternative chief, suggests that the show may be actually fixing its mistake. Talking about Ellen as the new judge, he said:

"She will absolutely at a minimum be there for the boy-girl rounds," Darnell said. 

Please let it be so. It's so much more interesting to watch. Think about it: Nick Mitchell, Tatiana Del Toro, and Alexander Wagner-Trugman would have  given us at least 2 performances each. Probably more. That would have possibly made the show brilliant. Then again, Idol never actually fixes its mistakes, so it's unlikely that the show will do anything that helps itself.