Just one year after filling Paula Abdul’s vacant seat on the American Idol judges panel, Ellen DeGeneres has decided to leave the show, saying that it was not “the right fit” for her.

She had brought her concern of not being the right person to be judging the American Idol hopefuls to Fox and the show’s producers a couple months ago, but said she would hold off on doing anything until they were able to find someone to fill her seat. Understandably, DeGeneres said that having her daytime talk show and then judging the nationwide singing competition made her work schedule more than she bargained for.

DeGeneres commented on her decision, saying:

“I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had, I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

With Ellen DeGeneres’ departure from the show, the team behind American Idol will not just have to find someone to fill her seat, but also Simon Cowell’s who announced he was leaving the show to concentrate on bringing The X Factor, a hit U.K. show, to the U.S.

There are a lot of rumors flying all over the place about American Idol; one in particular is that Steven Tyler will replace Cowell, which could be really interesting.

Hopefully they find two really great new judges because without having people on the panel who people actually want to see and hear from, American Idol could plummet more than it already has throughout the past few seasons.