It feels like it's been ages since it was announced that Ellen DeGeneres would join the "American Idol" judges' panel this season. But she finally claimed her spot between Simon Cowell and Kara DioGuardi in Tuesday's episode. And — surprise, surprise — we've got opinions:

Angie

• Whatever reservations I had about her are now gone. She'll bring the comedic relief that Norman Gentile brought last year.

Anthony

• I went into it dreading this episode because I'm not the biggest fan of Ellen DeGeneres and her brand of awkward comedy. But it turned out to be not so bad. That may be because after the first 20 minutes of the show, you didn't hear a peep from her until the judges reached one of the final contestants. At one point, her silence was so freaky I wondered whether she and her silent, reassuring nod was edited into the shot. We had the benefit of editing on this show. I fear that once it begins broadcasting live, we could be in for some major Ellen overkill.

Ryan

• Well, they hid her well. I found it funny that this new judge who has no singing talent or interest in the music industry whatsoever really showed her stuff with her first on-air critique. She compared Skii Bo Ski to a caged leopard or some nonsense (which I did not get at all) and completely ignored the important part — how he sang. Get ready for Ellen's sideshow this season, folks. They didn't show her much and only used her for comic relief, and she isn't even good at that.

Emma

• Not only does Ellen know there is a fine line between sexy and scary, she can also pull off the "lumberjack at a clambake" look, which is just as difficult. I am a big Ellen fan and don't give a fiddler's fart if she knows anything about music or not. And just when I thought I couldn't love her more, she pointed at a contestant's head shot and mumbled to the judges: "I think she's going to get annoying." A woman after my own heart.