Kara DioGuardi and her husband Mike McCuddy are now proud parents! After years of pregnancy struggles, including failed IVF treatments and miscarriages, the couple finally welcomed their first child, a son named Greyson James Carroll McCuddy.

Their baby boy was born on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles at 1:01 p.m., a rep for the songwriter confirmed to People. He weighs 8 lbs., 10 oz. and measures 20¾ inches long. His middle name Carroll is in honor of Kara’s late mother.

Kara DioGuardi’s Surrogacy Plans After Failed Pregnancies

Kara and her husband, who married in 2009, revealed they were finally going to welcome a baby after years of trying to get pregnant. Kara had suffered several rounds of failed IVF treatments and miscarriages. Eventually the couple decided on the surrogacy route to start a family.

“We are eagerly awaiting the healthy and happy birth of our son Greyson James Carroll McCuddy,” she told People in an official statement on Jan. 16.

“We made a personal decision to try with a surrogate. I asked someone we knew, a friend. And on the first try, it worked,” she added. “We’re praying for our surrogate, that she gets through this and that it’s as easy on her as it can possibly be, because she’s been a gem throughout the whole process. I’ve got two people on my mind: her and the baby. She’s given us this incredible gift.”

Congrats to the happy family! We’re so excited for Kara and Mike. What do YOU think of Kara finally starting a family HollyMoms?

– Christina Stiehl

More Kara DioGuardi news:

1. Kara DioGuardi Expecting Baby Boy Via Surrogate — Congrats
2. Kara DioGuardi: I Will Be Watching Simon Cowell’s ‘The X Factor,’ But Not ‘Religiously!’
3. Kara DioGuardi: I Was Molested As A Child & Date-Raped By A Producer

Kara DioGuardi may not be involved with American Idol anymore, but the former judge made an exciting announcement of her own on the day of the show’s 12th season premiere! Kara has confirmed on Jan. 16 that she and husband Mike McCuddy are expecting a baby boy through a gestational surrogate within the next few weeks!

In a statement to People, Kara confirms the upcoming birth of her first child. “We are eagerly awaiting the healthy and happy birth of our son Greyson James Carroll McCuddy.” The couple, who were married in 2009, struggled for years with fertility issues and many failed IVF attempts. Eventually, they decided to explore alternative routes to parenthood, including adoption and surrogacy.

After their exploration, Kara says, “We made a personal decision to try with a surrogate. I asked someone we knew, a friend. And on the first try, it worked. We’re praying for our surrogate, that she gets through this and that it’s as easy on her as it can possibly be, because she’s been a gem throughout the whole process. I’ve got two people on my mind: her and the baby. She’s given us this incredible gift.”

Kara DioGuardi’s Secret Baby Prep

Kara seems to have been making preparations to welcome Greyson into her life, as it was reported on Jan. 3 that she enormous mansion in Studio City, CA for $6.3 million just before the end of 2012. She has bought the home in 2007 for $3.5 million, making herself quite a pretty profit.

According to the Daily Mail, Kara had been diving her time between L.A. and a property in Maine, where she now plans on spending the majority of her time. Sounds like the perfect place to raise a child!

Our most heartfelt congratulations go out to Kara and Mike!

– Billy Nilles

More Celebrity Pregnancies Via Surrogate Mother:

1. Elton John & David Furnish Welcome Second Child — Congrats
2. Elizabeth Banks Welcomes Second Son Magnus Mitchell — Congrats
3. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban Welcome Baby Girl Via Surrogate

Kara DioGuardi judged American Idol alongside Simon Cowell for seasons eight and nine, but when they parted ways, it didn’t mean the end of their relationship. Kara, who’s now the head judge of Bravo’s Platinum Hit, still makes time to support Simon on his new show, The X Factor. She tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively that she will be tuning in to watch the season premiere of The X Factor on Sept. 21, but doesn’t plan to watch the show “religiously” given her own hectic career.

“Oh yeah I mean sure [I will be watching],” Kara admits at the Reeve Foundation’s Night For A Cure event in NYC on Sept. 7. “[But] the thing with these shows is I live this every day. I work with Warner Brothers. I signed Jason Derulo, all these artists. So every day it’s: I’m listening to music, I’m judging talent. Sometimes … I don’t follow religiously. [Sometimes it's just] laying at home, I just want to take a bath and have like a drink. I don’t want more music.”

But while Kara has to take some time to relax every once in a while (she’s quite busy staring in the Broadway show Chicago), she does have some advice for Simon and other judges like him. “It would probably be what I wish I had done more of — is just be yourself,” she shares. “Don’t worry what people think. Go for it because if you’re not sure of yourself and you don’t just go for it, you’re always going to wish that [you had].”

Kara learned this the hard way as it wasn’t easy at first for her to open up as an Idol judge. “I was so fearful at the beginning that I couldn’t get out of my own … ‘OMG there’s a red button on — 5 million viewers is so scary,’” she remembers. “But now it’s like I’ve been through it. Now I can go out on Broadway and act like a crazy murderess and have a good time.”

- Lindsey DiMattina

More X Factor Stories:

1. Simon Admits To Having A Threesome!
2. Paula Abdul Is Giving Herself A Makeover For X Factor!
3. Simon Chooses Paula To Be A Judge On X Factor!

The former ‘American Idol’ judge reveals in a heartbreaking new book that she suffered sex abuse as an 11-year-old and was harrassed even as her songwriting career took off.

Kara DioGuardi tells some dark secrets in her new book A Helluva High Note, describing the horror of being molested as a young girl — and facing date-rape as an adult.

The super-successful songwriter, who went on to become a judge on American Idol, recounts how the teenage son of a family friend repeatedly molested her, starting when she was just 11. ”On one particular day, he took me into the back shed of his house and put his hands all over my breasts and vagina,” Kara, 40, writes, according to E! Online. “I remember freezing and not knowing what to do.”

She was haunted by the attacks but she was determined not let the memories hold her back. And, she writes, “I DO NOT (DID NOT) SLEEP WITH ANYONE TO ADVANCE MY CAREER.”

But that didn’t stop men from expecting her to, Entertainment Weekly reports. When her career was on the rise around 2000, a “fairly known producer” date-raped her, Kara writes. They had a low-key dinner but later “he was on top of me, pumping, sweating, and speaking to me in Spanish, not a word of which I could understand.” She tried to get him to stop but decided not to fight him because she was so afraid he’d become more violent. And she kept silent afterward out of fear of sabotaging her career.

It wasn’t the last time she would be abused. DioGuardi later was sexually harassed by a “hugely successful artist” who invited her on what supposed to be a three-day trip to work on songs. But “activities consisted of watching Russian porn, scavenging around the kitchen for food [and] leering at two strippers…as they performed sex acts in the living room.”

Still, Kara kept working with him: “I wasn’t gonna let this bastard deter me from doing the job.” But Kara finally broke off their working relationship after he made her touch his penis when he had her trapped in the basement of his house.

Her tearful times didn’t end with TV stardom. Kara says her Idol gig was cut short because of her struggles to get pregnant: ”I wanted a child and there was no way I could get pregnant under the stress of eighteen-hour work days and live TV…I had undergone three unsuccessful rounds of IVF during Season 9.”

Kara’s book will go on sale April 26, and her new Bravo series, Platinum Hit, premieres on May 30.

Get More About Kara DioGuardi Here:

1. A Few Things You Don’t Know ABout Kara DioGuardi!
2. Kara’s New Talent Show For Bravo!
3. Will ‘Idol’ Regret Losing Kara?

With the holidays fast here- think big meals, festive parties and family gatherings- we could all use a little help hiding those extra pounds this season and Yummie Tummie Shapewear could be your stylish and savvy solution!

Created by celebrity stylist, fashion designer and mother of two, Heather Thomson, Yummie Tummie is a collection of modern body contouring shapewear that’s meant to be seen while secretly slimming your body and camouflaging visible lumps and bumps!

Think of them as Spanx you wear on the outside- only much cuter and much more comfortable!

“Everyone wants to look slimmer,” Heather told us at Hollywoodlife.com. “ And Yummie Tummies are comfortable enough to wear every day !”

Yummie Tummie came about three years ago, not as a business endeavor but as a personal solution to boost Heather’s confidence with her post-baby body.

“It started off completely selfishly,” she explains. “After I had my first baby, my belly looked like a deflated inner tube and I wanted to feel better about myself.”

Heather checked out the intimates section of her department and found binding girdles, matronly body suits and uncomfortable undergarments that made it impossible to breathe.

“They failed functionally and aesthetically. I felt myself squeezing into these things and my skin was still rolling over,” she says. “I was in a bad mood by noon.”

Heather decided to get a little creative and took a simple old fashion waist-cincher and sewed on additional fabric to create a basic cotton tank top with a stretchy center to hold her tummy in.

“In my first contraption, I looked good, I felt good and it was something I could show off,” she says.

Her friends and co-workers raved about how fabulous she looked in her home-made tank top and with their encouragement, Heather decided to get her invention patented and launch it to the masses.

“I knew nothing like it had existed- shapewear that was actually fashionable and meant to be seen,” Heather says.

The line, which started off with just basic layering tank tops was named Yummie Tummie because Heather says she always uses the word “yummy “to describe something great. The tanks feature a special microfiber fabric that feel like a soft stocking that smooths out and shapes a woman’s silhouette.

“It’s not going to take 20 pounds off you, but if you want to hide those pesky five pounds, Yummie Tummie will get you there without adding bulk,” says Heather. “It’s not about false advertising, it’s about looking and feeling your best. And getting rid of those muffin tops once and for all!”

The collection has since grown far beyond the basic tank tops.  Yummie Tummie now includes dresses, leggings, t-shirts vests, and intimates all which contour different parts of the body. It’s trendy clothing with special slimming panels.

Her celebrity clients are big Yummie Tummie fans because the clothing makes them look flawless on the red carpet. “Beyonce’ is very supportive and the Kardashians love the tanks,” she says. Other A-Listers like Heidi Klum, Lauren Conrad, Tyra Banks and Oprah have all been seen sporting their Yummie Tummies.

The Yummie Tummie collection is at major department stores like Saks, Nordstrom, Dillards, 1,500 specialty stores globally and online at YummieTummie.com. Now take a look at the looks and shop!

Ashley Joy Parker

Kara will be judging and award-winning singer/songwriter Jewel will be hosting a new Bravo show, Going Platinum — will YOU watch?

Goodbye to the old, hello to the new! Just like Paula Abdul is getting a new dance show, another former American Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi, is launching her solo TV career as well. The 39-year-old award-winning songwriter is going to host a new song-writing competition show on Bravo called Going Platinum.

According to the press release, “Going Platinum will be a song-writing competition that pits contestants against one another as they live together, all vying for a $100,000 grand prize.”

Kara will be the head judge and Jewel will be the show’s host, which is slated to premiere next year.

–Kirstin Benson

Getty Images

It was confirmed today that J. Lo, Steven and Randy Jackson would make up the judging panel on Idol, but I don’t think this motley crew is going to gel! Do you?

What oh what will become of my beloved American Idol now that Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi have been replaced by Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler? I think I have an idea — and the outcome is NOT going to be pretty.

The unhappy announcement was made today, Sept. 22, that J. Lo and Aerosmith singer Steven would be joining Randy Jackson on the judging panel, and although I’m happy that Randy is sticking around, I think Fox has made a serious mistake.

Steven is too whacked out for viewers to identify with. Sure, the Baby Boomers will be stoked to see him on the show, but who’s really going to appreciate his addled drugs & rock ‘n roll sensibility? Liv Tyler‘s rocker dad says he plans on becoming this season’s answer to former judge Paula Abdul by “giving everybody a little love”, but he doesn’t have the adorable dippiness that made Paula so unique.

Jennifer is totally the wrong choice to replace Simon. She may have a mouth on her, but that’s not the same thing as being RIGHT. Every Idol fan knew the only opinion that counted was Simon’s, and I’m going to have a hard time believing that J.Lo – who’s music career has totally bombed – knows what she’s talking about when it comes to legitimate talent.

At least Randy is still kicking around. He may not have the most concise criticisms, but he’s a pro — and the show would have crumbled without his presence. “I can’t believe it’s been 10 years of the greatest show in the world,” he said during a press conference this morning. “I am looking forward to this next season; we are going to knock it out of the park. Season 10 is going to be hot!”

I’m not so sure about that, dawg…

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A new report says that Steven Tyler is joining Jennifer Lopez as the newest judge on American Idol - and I’m bummed. Elton John would have been so much better!

Dim the lights, because you’re about to meet your next American Idol…judge. Rather anticlimactic, no? This is exactly how I felt upon learning that Steven Tyler had finally inked a deal to become one of Idol‘s replacement judges.

“I’ve just confirmed from sources close to the singer that the “deal is done” for Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to be one of the new judges joining Jennifer Lopez on American Idol next season,” Nikki Finke, from our sister site Deadline Hollywood, reported August 18, adding that the deal will reportedly be announced shortly after Labor Day (September 6th).

No offense to Steven or J. Lo, but I was hoping to REALLY bring the drama back to my favorite show this season. To echo the famous words of last remaining original judge Randy Jackson, season 9 was “just all right for me, dawg.” Simon Cowell wasn’t his typically crusty self, Kara DioGuardi was too preachy, Ellen DeGeneres was too nice and the contestants were bland.

Which is why we need judges like Elton John (hello, the man has a movie called Tantrums & Tiaras! Enough said), Jessica Simpson - she of the famous ‘is Chicken of the Sea really chicken?’ comment is the obvious choice to replace kooky Paula Abdul, and Justin Timberlake - a giant industry brat with tons of musical credibility, a fresh take on young artists and excellent taste to boot – to liven things up.

I’m sure Jennifer and Steven will do a good job, but Idol is all about bringing the drama – and I’m not talking about a La Lopez diva hissy fit, either.

What do you think, HollywoodLifers? Are Steven and Jennifer good choices to replace Simon, Ellen and Kara? Who would you rather see?

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