Paula Abdul may have needed a day or two to fully embrace new judging partner Kara DioGuardi, but Simon Cowell let his excitement about the addition shine through during her first public appearance with fellow American Idol judges yesterday.

The quartet were on hand in Manhattan for a round of season eight auditions, as Cowell talked to reporters about his new pal on the panel.

"It's like, you know, having dinner with three people for seven years, and getting quite bored of each other," Simon said. "So it's having a fourth person, new opinion, I think it's gonna be interesting."

Moreover, Cowell said: "Kara has a good reputation of A, having hits; and B, having an opinion. And that's a good combination. And she's cute."

Simon Cowell is excited to have Kara DioGuardi on board.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.