Kara DioGuardi
Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (/ˈkærə diːɵˈɡwɑrdi/; born December 9, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, composer and TV personality. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales of albums on which her songs appear exceed 159 million worldwide. DioGuardi is a Grammy-nominated writer, 2011 NAMM Music For Life Award winner, 2009 NMPA Songwriter Icon Award winner, 2007 BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year, and has received 15 BMI Awards for co-writing the most performed songs on the radio. DioGuardi served as a judge on American Idol for its eighth and ninth seasons. In 2008, she was appointed to the position of executive vice president of talent development at Warner Bros. Records, and has signed acts such as Jason Derülo and Iyaz. In 2011, she was a head judge on the Bravo singer-songwriter competition series Platinum Hit.