Simon Cowell may have the casting vote in early audition rounds of “American Idol” but it sounds like new judge Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul bring some girl power of their own to the tart-tongued British judge they call a ‘”bully”.

“He’s the bully brother!. Sometimes we love each other, and sometimes I try to change seats. He’s annoying sometimes. I have to reel him in.  Kara finally sees what it’s like for me –  my own private hell,” Abdul told reporters of her love-hate relationship with Cowell.

“American Idol” executive producer Ken Warwick told reporters at a television conference in Los Angeles that one of the reasons producers had added a fourth judge this season was because “We thought it was high time on the panel that Simon didn’t get his own way. ”

“It’s good for us when they gang up on Simon,” he said. ” Simon —  you know what he’s like.  He can gang up on Paula at times,”

Abdul also laid to rest once and for all the notion that she was opposed to DioGuardi joining the established three-person panel. In fact,  she revealed that the two ladies have a friendship going back 10 years that started when Abdul moved DioGuardi into her home in Los Angeles when she was struggling to break into the music industry as a songwriter.

“She was the best roommate I ever had. Except that she walks in her sleep. We had the best time ever,” Abdul said.  She said the two met outside a New York diner, started talking, and then Abdul offered her a place in her Los Angeles home where she introduced DioGuardi to friends in the business.

“We instantly became thick as thieves. I believed in her,” said Abdul.

The bond between the two women on the show becomes apparent in Tuesday’s first episode.  Watch out for bikini girl!