Of course, it's hard not to compare new judges to the original judges — Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell — who made American Idol what it is today. They set the tone for competition show personalities and if you watched them together in the first eight seasons, you know why. They had good chemistry, but they were also snarky, to each other and the contestants — although most of the bite came from Simon, who was known for saying things like "If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning." Randy became known for his gentler delivery, which has since become a meme ( "It's gonna be a no from me, dawg," for the unfamiliar.) Paula was often the relief, the one who would lift the contestants up when Simon and Randy got them down. That said, the reality is that, as a group, they did actually give great advice to potential contestants. Simon was always known as the harsh one, but he was hardly ever wrong. That honesty is what made them trustworthy, so even though they weren’t the nicest, their commentary had a point.