American Idol (season 8) had at least one judge.
American Idol (season 8) . Judges Simon Cowell , Paula Abdul , and Randy Jackson continued to judge the show 's contestants , along with Ryan Seacrest as host . The season introduced Kara DioGuardi as the fourth judge on the Idol panel . It was also Abdul 's final season as a judge . There were 36 semi-finalists instead of 24 , and thirteen finalists instead of twelve , nine contestants chosen by the public and four by the judges in a wild card round .