NEW YORK (AP) - Paula Abdul said her contract is up this season on "American Idol," and that no one can ever replace her.

In an interview with Cynthia McFadden, airing Thursday on ABC News "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. EDT, Abdul said that she loves the show, especially this season, which has a fourth judge, Kara Dioguardi. "I love the show, I do. I love what I do on the show. ... It's taken me a while to get comfortable in my own skin with the show," Abdul said.

Asked by McFadden if she thinks DioGuardi will replace her on the show, Abdul said, "I don't think anyone (can). First of all, Kara says, 'I could never replace you.' And I said whenever there is change it's not about replacing anybody it's about possibly moving on."

Abdul said she has no problem that DioGuardi joined the judges panel, along with herself, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, but she wasn't consulted about the decision beforehand. She said she was informed DioGuardi would be a part of the show while heading to the airport last August to judge "Idol" tryouts. "I thought that respectfully all of us as a group, maybe we could even figure this out together and I was surprised because Simon has always been against the fourth. We've had guest judges come in before and he banned that from happening anymore," she said.

ALICIA RANCILIO
Associated Press Writer

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