Paula Abdul Leaves American Idol

Paula Abdul has announced she is leaving American Idol, the show she claims became an "international phenomenon" with her help , Sky News reports.

We hate when that happens - especially when there's no clear reason why.

Sure, Paula has driven us nuts with her loony superlatives and, sure, she's been the family ditz. But those are reasons to keep her, not drop her , New York Daily News reports.

Paula Abdul has said on her Twitter account that she's not coming back for the next season on American Idol.

With "sadness in her heart", she announced she would not be back but would miss nurturing all the new talent in a show she had been a part of from Day One, Comingsoon.net reported.

Fox, which enjoys huge ratings from the show, said in a statement that it was saddened that Abdul, who had been an important part of the Idol family for the last eight years, had decided not to return , Malaysia Star reports.