Kara DioGuardi - "Casey was not my No. 1 draft pick"

The NY Times has a great interview where she talks about Ellen DeGeneres, Simon Cowell, Casey James and her future on American Idol.

Kara's plan: let everyone know that she's a legit player in the music business. I think she's is. Fans are just emotional and some people just love to hate.

Go Kara!

Who Are We to Judge? After ‘Idol,’ Kara DioGuardi Gives Us Some Counsel (NY Times)

Q. I know your No. 1 draft pick this season didn’t make it to the finals, but were you satisfied with the results of this year’s competition? A. Who was my No. 1 draft pick?

Q. I just assumed it was Casey James.
A. No! Let’s clear that up right now. Casey was not my No. 1 draft pick. Casey was a guy who was attractive – this whole nonsense got made up about cougars. I do think that with the right song, he could be commercial. But I always said I liked Crystal. Lee came out from the shadows and was the underdog.

Q. It’s been suggested that Lee won because he had room to grow, where as Crystal was a formidable talent right from the start. Do you think that’s a fair assessment?
A. It’s very hard for the frontrunner to win this competition, because America likes a story. And they like to see a contestant that didn’t know they could sing, had no encouragement, had a past that was challenging, and is the good guy – he takes in the criticism and turns up every week with a good attitude and works it into his performances and nails it. It’s all about the dream.

Q. What are you doing in the weeks ahead, before “Idol” starts up again?
A. Working. I’m back at Warner Brothers. We’re working on Jason Derulo, Iyaz, Neon, this new artist Jason Reeves and Susan Justice. I’ve got my publishing company which co-publishes the B.o.B. song “Nothing on You,” and “Undo It” by Carrie [Underwood]. I’ve been DJing on Saturdays for 104.3 MYfm in California. And I’m going to Nashville next week to write and present at the CMTs. All those things are really important because they make me a viable judge at “American Idol,” and to turn your back on my first love, which is songwriting, wouldn’t make any sense.

Source NY Times