Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is a celebrated American pop singer, dancer and a 
choreographer who has also tried her hand at acting. Paula also happens to be a popular television personality. In the 80s Abdul rose became a very sought-after choreographer and later had a career as a Pop-R&B singer and had a string of hits and so far she has scored a total of six number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
Abdul has thus won praise from all sides as a compassionate judge who sympathizes with the contestants thus bearing sharp contrast with fellow judge Simon Cowell. After her initial period of success, Paula has suffered a series of setbacks both in her professional as well as in her personal life and fame and success were achieved by her in the 2000s all due to the popularity of American Idol. She has won a Grammy for the “Best Music Video – Short Form” for “Opposites Attract” and has also twice won the Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Achievement in the field of Choreography.”
Paula further acquires a popular status on American Idol and continues to bask in success of the show much alike her fellow judges and today Paula is considered as the compassionate, ‘nice’ judge who understands the contestants.
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius “Randy” Jackson was born on the 23rd of June in the year 
1956 and is an American musician. He is a multi talented person who happens to be a bassist, a singer, a record producer and is also a music manager. He also happens to be a former A&R executive. There is yet another identity that Randy has that is of being known as one of the judges of the very popular American Idol show.
In fact he is best known as one of the main judge on American Idol since its inception. In fact he along with Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell has been on the permanent panel of judges of American Idol. Randy Jackson also dons the cap of the Executive Producer for MTV’s show entitled America’s Best Dance Crew. He has been a winner of the very prestigious Grammy Awards as a music producer. Randy has played with musical legends like Carlos Santana and Jerry Garcia.
He was also a part of the famous rock band Journey and he later turned a music producer. He has a producer for pop sensations like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, NSYNC and he also manages Papertongues and has helped them bag a record deal with a well known record label.
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell was born on the 7th October in the year 1959 and 
happens to be an English TV personality. Simon is also an A&R executive as well as a television producer. He also happens to be an entrepreneur and has acquired quite a fortune through the world of showbiz. He has earned a large degree of fame both in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States.
Apart from being an A&R executive and an entrepreneur, he has reached several other heights of fame as one of the permanent judges of the American Idol show that has now reached cult status. He along with Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul have been the members of the judging panel since the show was kick started in the year 2002.
As ironic as it might sound, he is famous for his blunt and non-compassionate comments and remarks that he unleashes upon the contestants who face him at the rounds of American Idols. He exemplifies bitterness at the popular TV reality show and has a sharp tongue that spews pure venom. He has been a judge on other shows like The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent only to name a few. He also owns Syco, a television production and music publishing house.
Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi
Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi was born on the 9th of December in the year 1970 and happens to be an American singer-songwriter. She is also been a successful record producer and a TV personality as well and she has contributed to a large number of internationally acclaimed popular songs. Her music usually falls in the light pop-rock as well as dance genres.
Kara has worked with the likes of Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, David Archuleta, Carrie Underwood and even Paula Abdul. Recently she added another feather to her illustrious cap as she bagged a place in the judges’ panel in American Idol. In the month of July 2006 she was a judge in a TV show called The One: Making a Music Star and this show was also somewhat stylistically similar to American Idol.
This show debuted on ABC and had the second-lowest rating of all time as far as a premiere on a major American network is concerned and was canceled after around two weeks of broadcasting. She joined American Idol as a fourth member of the Judging Panel and debuted on the show’s eighth season. She joins Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as the judges in the current American Idol season.
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest was born on the 24th of December in the year 1974. He is primarily a TV host by profession. Ryan also happens to be an Emmy Award-nominated American television as well as a popular radio host. Apart from being a host on several popular electronic mediums, he also happens to be a television producer as well as an entrepreneur.
Ryan has been in the entertainment industry for many years now and has an experience that can be matched by a few in the whole industry. Ryan attained further heights of fame after he started anchoring American Idol that started in 2002. He was initially joined by a co-host who later left and ever since Ryan has been firmly holding up his ‘hosting’ duties with panache and with a touch of sophistication. Apart from being the sole host on American Idol, Ryan Seacrest also co-hosts some other TV shows as well.
He hosts the entertainment-news show entitled E! News and also hosts Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast that is held on an annual basis on ABC. He also hosts quite a few shows on radio and KIIS-FM in Los Angeles being one of the most popular ones. He also is a host on the American Top 40 that is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks.