Kara DioGuardi 'offers advice to Idol judges'

Kara DioGuardi has advised new American Idol judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez to offer heartfelt criticism to the show's contestants.

In an interview with Parade, the 'I Do Not Hook Up' songwriter was asked whether she had any words of wisdom for American Idol's newest experts.

"Just tell it like it is, come from your heart, and have fun," she suggested.

The 40-year-old musician served as a judge for two seasons on the Fox reality competition, before exiting the show last summer.

DioGuardi also suggested that her upcoming memoir will provide her fans with insight on her journey to success.

She explained: "It came out of these live shows I was doing where I was singing songs that I had co-written and I'd tell stories around them and it started to feel like all the songs were connected and they were part of an autobiography and part of my life. That's really what the book is about.

"It's a memoir in the sense that it shows you where I came from and what I've gone through and how that's impacted my songs. I really believe that great songs come from an honest place and they come from your stories. So you'll get more of my story and you'll see it from factors of the hit songs that I've written."

Her autobiography A Helluva High Note: Surviving Life, Love and American Idol is released on April 26.