Ellen DeGeneres: ‘I’d be fine with just the three of us’

New judge Ellen DeGeneres hasn't done many interviews in advance of her "Idol" debut tonight, but she did speak with "Extra's" Mario Lopez and told him that, despite the never-ending stream of rumors, she would "be fine if it was just the three of us."

Ellen also added that in Simon's absence, maybe she could fill the mean quota. "Maybe I'll be that person," she joked. "I doubt it." But on a more serious matter, Ellen insisted that rumors of potential replacements are just that at this stage. "You keep hearing these names out there, [but] it hasn't gone out to anyone. No one has been approached yet."

Still, Ellen did reveal that she has "a couple of people in mind," though she was tight-lipped about who those contenders might be, "More funny is good," she said. According to Deadline.com's Nikki Finke, Ellen is "not in favor" of Howard Stern.

We'll be live-tweeting tonight's episode on East Coast time and would love to hear your reactions to Ellen's debut. Join us on Twitter!

– Shirley Halperin

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