The newest edition to the “Idol” trio opens up to Women’s Health magazine – Kara DioGuardi, the song-writer who has collaborated with Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Carrie Underwood, joined American Idol this season as the fourth judge!

On being the new kid on the Idol block:

“Well, I already knew Paula and Randy. But I didn’t know Simon that well. It was about respecting these three people, who have been doing this for a long time, but also trying to be honest and be myself.”

On finding her judging niche:

“It’s more about ‘What side of myself am I going to show?’ I can be tough, but I can also be nurturing. It’s hard to be critical with young people. You don’t want to disappoint them, but you also don’t want to send them down a path when you they won’t be successful.”

Squashing rumors of a Paula-Kara rivalry:

“Paula and I are friends, and she’s been a huge help to me. I like strong women, and Paula is a fighter. It’s great that there are times on the show now where you see girl power.”

Her co-judge, Simon Cowell:

“Oh he’s naughty, naughty, naughty! He’s that guy who was a year in front of you in school, who had that smile that was so captivating, but if you went there, he would eat you alive. He’s funny and quick-witted. At times, we disagree, but I dish it right back at him, because I’m from New York and I’m feisty.”

Back in the day:

“I was a pop-music junkie. My parents were into Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. They weren’t too excited when I had Aretha or The Stones pumping. [I would be singing] and my brother would yell, ‘Shut the hell up!’ But listening to all that popular music helped me in my songwriting career. Listen to the Bee Gees and you can learn to be a great writer.”

Writing her first professional song:

“I was 22. It was bad. It was called Show Me. It was based on the fact that I was with a guy who didn’t want to emotionally commit, so I was saying, ‘Show me what’s going on inside.’ Terrible. Ugh.”

On getting her heart broken:

“For me, yes. I have breakups that I can credit to every song. In my twenties, I picked people who would create that dysfunction and drama, so I could draw upon it. With my boyfriend now, we don’t have that drama. There are moments when I wake up and think, ‘Oh, shit! There’s nothing bad here.’”

The artist she’s dying to work with:

“Prince. He’s a bold artist who’s done it on his own terms. You can listen to his records today and it sounds like he made them five minutes ago.”

WH asked Kara if she sings along when she hears her songs:

“Depends. I’m not going to scream, ‘Oh my God! That’s my song!’ But you know what I’ll do? When I’m out somewhere and hear one of my songs, I look around and smile, like, ‘I’ve got a secret.’”

Her fitness regimen:

“I drink lots of water and sleep eight hours a night. I also exercise three times a week: 20 minutes cardio and 40 minutes of weight with cardio. I run up and down stairs and do the elliptical. I also do step-ups on a bench.”

On dieting:

“Dieting is not my thing. I am an eater – an Italian who doesn’t eat is an outcast – but I do it in moderation. I make a special dish of vegetables and sausage with garlic and oil. If I want to get crazy, I make rice – lasagna, too.”

Secret recipe for stardom:

“Individuality, hard work, and having something to say. You’ve got to have heart and be bold.”

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There are no two bigger fans of the Los Angeles Lakers than OG rap artists Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube. You can regularly see the famed gangsta rappers sitting court side at the Staples Center watching Kobe Bryant get busy. But retire Kobe’s old number 8 jersey already? And hang it from the rafters along Laker greats like Magic, Wilt, Unseld and Kareem? Well that is up for debate and was topic of discussion between Cube and Snoop backstage during the taping of Dogg After Dark, MTV’s new jam-packed weekly variety talk show.

Look for a new episode of Dogg After Dark, Tuesday March 3rd at 9pm est/pst. Big Snoop will welcome Ice Cube, comedian Mike Epps, b-baller Jalen Rose and crooner Robin Thicke to Hollywood’s The Kress. The episode will also feature special performances by LMFAO and Fall Out Boy.

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Being successful, wealthy, pretty, and internationally admired doesn’t solve everything, you know. Every once in a while, Gwyneth Paltrow gets overwhelmed by the richness of her own life. “I think what stresses me out the most is trying to do so many things at once all the time, trying to be a good, present mother, trying to act, to cook,” Paltrow told us at the Bent on Learning gala last night. “I do a lot at once, and I think that sometimes the idea of trying to do all of that stresses me out a lot,” she says. Also, there’s traffic. “Traffic really fucking stresses me out,” Paltrow adds…

“Listen, I have a really blessed, weird, interesting life, and, you know, if my observations or the people that I get to meet are helping my friends, who are calling and saying I want to do this, or I want to go here, or what should I do, then I thought, well, it might be nice to share it with other people.”

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Kim Kardashian turned up to the Stardust Pictures Pre-Oscar bash at Haven House last week looking like her absolutely stunning self in a belted Halston dress, but while posing on the red carpet she refused photographers the opportunity to shoot her best asset.

The snappers angrily yelled for the curvaceous Kardashian to pull her signature pose and turn for a back shot, but Kim politely declined with the excuse that she didn’t like the back of her dress. Also chiming from the carpet was sister Kourtney who strongly advised Kim not to twist her body for photos.

It turns out that aesthetic issues with her dress weren’t the real problem - poor Kim was suffering a wardrobe malfunction in the form of the dreaded wedgie! The reality starlet and little sis were on hand as stars like Zooey Deschanel, Alyssa Milano and Dana Delany shot a PSA for American Photo Magazine and The Creative Coalition to bring back the arts into education, but Kim was pretty quick to scoot off. …

And even though he is heir to an oil empire, Jason “Gummy Bear” Davis wore his pajamas to the swanky soiree, along with a leg cast. Mind you, nothing is wrong with his leg. Welcome to Hollywood.

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Jodie Foster has given us many amazing performances over the years - but one you won’t be seeing is her emotionally charged confrontation with officers from the Beverly Hills Police Department after they nailed her for speeding.

A crew from truTV’s reality show “Speeders” - which rides with highway patrols to film motorists getting caught speeding and then trying to talk their way out of a ticket - was with the Beverly Hills cops last weekend when they clocked a Prius allegedly going 54 mph in a 35 mph zone.

When an officer and the camera crew approached the car, they found Foster - winner of Best Actress Oscars for “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Accused” - sitting behind the wheel.

Our source relates that, “Foster refused to sign a waiver to appear on the show, so the camera crew ceased filming and returned to the police car. But she grew quite agitated and angry, and kept insisting to the police officers that the radar gun must have made a mistake. She maintained to the officers that she was only going 30 mph at the time they pulled her over, and she kept interrupting and complaining that the process was taking too long.”

During Foster’s histrionics, the officer made a call to get his supervisor to the scene, “which just further annoyed her,” according to our spy. “Despite her numerous requests otherwise, the cops still issued her a citation.”

Beverly Hills Police spokesman Lt. Tony Lee told Page Six: “She was upset that she got pulled over, but she signed the ticket and went on her way.”

Reps for the Yale-educated mom of two, who made $15 million per movie, did not return multiple calls and e-mails. Foster, 46, who recently starred in Fox’s family flick “Nim’s Island,” is said to be developing a biopic about Nazi-era director Leni Riefenstahl.

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RACHAEL Ray (above with husband John Cusimano) is officially an indie-rock groupie. During a performance by Semi Precious Weapons at her South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival preview party at Santo’s Party House downtown on Wednesday, the 30-minute cuisine cutie got onstage and screamed, “Not only is lead singer Justin Tranter the most attractive person I’ve seen, but I also want his high-heeled boots!” Then she jokingly tried to steal Tranter’s boots while grabbing his rear end several times. Ray will host an official SXSW party in Austin, Texas, in March.

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THE stars of “Top Chef” like to sizzle, and not necessarily in the kitchen. Last week, when the Bravo reality show hit West Village hot spot Ma-dame X, contestants Leah Cohen and Hosea Rosenberg were passionately making out at the bar. “They were really going at it,” a bartender told us. The two had stirred controversy earlier on the show when they shared a kiss, leading to an awkward morning after, as each is in a serious relationship. Leah said on-air she’d apologize to her boyfriend. Hosea, who was later crowned “Top Chef,” said the same about his girlfriend. A rep for the show had no comment.

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Court records show Russell Simmons has agreed to pay $40,000 a month in child support.

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Marjorie Steinberg signed off on an agreement Thursday giving Kimora Lee Simmons sole custody of the couple’s two daughters, 9-year-old Ming and 6-year-old Aoki. The couple’s divorce was finalized in January. Kimora Lee Simmons filed for divorce in March 2008, citing irreconcilable differences.

Russell Simmons, the 51-year-old hip-hop mogul, was granted visitation rights and must pay child support until each daughter reaches 19 and a half years of age.

The 33-year-old Kimora Lee Simmons has final say on whether her daughters appear on her reality TV show “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.”

A call placed to Russell Simmons’ lawyer was forwarded to a recorded message declining to comment.

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