Alright, look, I’m not going to use this opportunity to make a bunch of American Idol jokes because as it turns out I watch the show and can actually appreciate this news as a pretty significant development for the program.

Not what you were expecting huh?

In any case, Paula Abdul has publically announced via Twitter that she’s leaving the show. I won’t transcribe the tweets, but they go something like “I’m so sad! I love you! I’m so sad!” Rumors had been swirling for weeks that she had been upset with the millions of dollars she was getting paid to sit there and make up words, and she wanted more millions to continue doing so. She referenced Ryan Seacrest’s $15M contract, but failed to realize he contributes about 10x more to the show than she does.

Even though Paula is the least important member of the Idol team, her departure could mark a shark-jumping moment for the show. The massive hit has been pummeling every other show on TV for years, and sometimes all it takes is a crack in the armor to make everything collapse, even if that crack is seemingly unimportant…and visibly insane.

I’m still not convinced that Idol won’t work all this out before the show airs, but with Kara DiGuardidaidri returning, the show’s need for a female voice would appear to be filled for the moment.