Of the many guest judges announced to fill in for Paula Abdul on American Idol next season, Neil Patrick Harris is by far the most interesting. And lest we think NPH is too nice a guy to drop a helping of reality on some of the more disastrous auditioners, he tells Entertainment Weekly otherwise:

“… when someone sits outside for 11 hours in Dallas, Texas, to audition for American Idol, a show that they’ve seen, they know the beratement,” Harris tells EW. “They know the caustic judgment. And then they come out and they sing and they’re terrible. And they seriously think that they’re talented. They must be told that they’re terrible. They don’t need to be embarrassed. I would never tell someone that they’re ugly, or that they should be ashamed of themselves. But it’s now time for the family that’s always told them that they’re the best singer and that they could win it — it’s time to let them know that they should probably not audition for this show anymore. And I had no problem being the guy to say that.“

Harris also talks about hosting the Emmys on Sept. 20, his plans to bring back musical and dance numbers to the awards show and his love of So You Think You Can Dance. One of the most charming things about the How I Met Your Mother star is that he’s a big TV/pop culture fan himself, which makes his gig hosting the Emmys something to look forward to next month.

And by the way, the growing list of celebs who’ve made Idol guest judge appearances so far, in addition to NPH: Mary J. Blige, Victoria Beckham, Joe Jonas, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain and Kristin Chenoweth.

Oh, and the latest news on Paula Abdul: She may star in her own Las Vegas revue show.