The stars of Fox’s “American Idol” expect great things from new judge Ellen DeGeneres , but they are all saying something different about her addition to the judging panel of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, and her replacement of songstress Paula Abdul.

Host Ryan Seacrest told Fox News at the Primetime Emmy awards on Sunday that DeGeneres, a comedian with her own daytime chat show, is a “superstar.”

“She will change the sexual tension,” Seacrest said of DeGeneres, who is lesbian and last year married longtime girlfriend and actress Portia de Rossi in California, before voters in the state banned same-sex weddings during the November 2008 election.

“Simon and Paula had a specific kind of tension, but this will be quite different…” Seacrest told Fox.

DioGuardi, who only joined the show this past season, told People magazine at an Emmy after-party that “Idol” producers’ recruitment of DeGeneres was a “genius decision,” and that she wishes she had thought of it herself.

One of the most pointed comments about DeGeneres’ addition came from director Bruce Gowers, who won an Emmy for his role with “American Idol.”

“I think there will be a lot more fun on the show than there was before,” Gowers told reporters backstage.

“I think we’re going to get even higher ratings,” he said.

But Gowers backtracked when asked if he meant the show suffered with Abdul in the judge’s chair, saying that was not the case.

Despite drawing more viewers than any other show on television, “American Idol” did not win its first Emmy until 2007, which was six years into the show’s lifespan, and even that was for the relatively unexciting category of best technical direction.

 Will next season’s arrival of DeGeneres, a highly respected figure in Hollywood, change things and get the show more respect from Emmy voters?

They’re rolling out the red carpet in Los Angeles for television’s prime time Emmy Awards on Sunday but some experts are already predicting a winner’s line-up  in the main categories that looks much the same as last year.

That means that popular favorites like hospital drama “House”, animated comedy “Family Guy” and the “Law&Order” actress Mariska Hargitay could again lose out to shows like “Mad Men”, “Damages” star Glenn Close and the Tina Fey comedy “30 Rock”.

With the exception perhaps of “30 Rock” and the reality series category that acknowledges the mass appeal of shows like “Dancing With The Stars” and “The Amazing Race”, the Emmy awards seem to be moving away from mainstream viewing in the same way as the Oscars has done with mainstream films in recent years.

Public opinion polls are showing big differences between what the vast American public would like to see win, and the shows like “Breaking Bad” and “Little Dorritt” that are winning lots of prizes but small audiences. Yet, the Emmys are supposed to honor the best of the best, rather than the highest-rated shows and the stars that appear most on celebrity websites.

So on Sunday, will you be paying more attention to the winners on the podium, the red carpet fashion, or the entertainment which will be hosted by “How I Met Your Mother” actor Neil Patrick Harris and includes a live band for the first time since 2004, as well as a dance segment?

Which stars are you most excited about seeing? And is there anyone, in your opinion, who shouldn’t be there at all?

American TV fans are being offered the chance of a seat “next to some of the biggest stars in Hollywood” at the annual prime time Emmy television awards next month.

CBS, which will broadcast the Emmy ceremony live from Los Angeles on Sept. 20,  has invited fans to enter a “best seat in the house” contest by submitting a 30-second video explaining why they are “TV’s Number One Fan.”

One prize winner, over the age of 18, will attend the Emmy Awards and will be seated  among the stars for the glitzy three-hour award ceremony.

Bill Binenstock, vice president of CBS.com, said the contest was a “great way to get fans involved” in the TV industry’s biggest night.  Actor Neil Patrick Harris, star of the  TV comedy “How I Met Your Mother”, will host the ceremony, and comedy “30 Rock” and drama series “Mad Men” are expected to be  be among the big winners.

For the 60th Emmy Awards , the show’s organizers made a bold decision to scrap the one-host format typical of awards shows.

Instead, they opted for not one, but five hosts — the five being Ryan Seacrest of “American Idol,” Heidi Klum of “Project Runway,” Tom Bergeron of “Dancing with the Stars,” Howie Mandel of “Deal or No Deal,” and Jeff Probst of “Survivor.” All were nominated for the newly-created category award for the best host of a reality or competition series.

As the show opened, the five-host strategy appeared to be a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup. After entering together in matching suits (including supermodel Klum, who towered over her co-hosts), the five Emmy hosts admitted that they had nothing prepared and were therefore winging it.

“We are like Sarah Palin’s bridge to nowhere,” Mandel joked.

It was the only joke.

To close out their opening bit, the hosts resorted to a cheap gag — ripping Klum’s pants off. The “monologue” ended with Klum standing on stage in a skimpy black lace outfit with Bergeron and “Boston Legal” star William Shatner.

Yes, William Shatner. We’re still trying to figure out what he was doing up there.

At the end of the show, Probst took home the “Host of all Hosts” Emmy for “Survivor,” which he has hosted since 2000.

“The Amazing Race,” however, took home the award for best reality series for the sixth straight year, leaving top-rated “American Idol” in the dust once again. “The Amazing Race” has won the best reality show Emmy for as long as that category has existed. In a world where there are so many reality shows, what gives?

Braving blistering afternoon heat and more than a little sweat, the world’s top television stars rolled onto the red carpet at the Emmy Awards in downtown Los Angeles in all their finery.

Once the arrivals wrapped up and the show got started, it was left to us onlookers to decide who looked great and who, well, didn’t.

Supermodel and “Project Runway” host Heidi Klum was no doubt the flashiest star on the carpet in a crystal-studded Armani gown with massive butterfly-shaped earrings.

“30 Rock” creator and star Tina Fey, meanwhile, looked understated but elegant in an eggplant-colored strapless dress.

Yellow was a popular color, donned by both Mariska Hargitay of “Law and Order: SVU” and Teri Hatcher of “Desperate Housewives.”

But once all the stars had strutted their stuff, who looked the absolute best? Or worst, for that matter?

“30 Rock” actor Judah Friedlander thought he deserved the “best dressed” award, but we’re guessing people may have something to say about that. Sorry, Judah.