dioguardimemoir.jpgEx-American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi reveals a harrowing past that includes not only sexual abuse she suffered as a child, but a date-rape incident she experienced as an adult in her new memoir, Helluva High Note.

DioGuardi writes of her childhood nightmare at age 11, "On one particular day, he took me into the the back shed of his house and put his hands all over my [body]. I remember freezing and not knowing what to do."

And then in 2000, the songwriter found herself in an unwanted position with a powerful producer who forced himself on her after dinner.

"[W]ithin a few hours, he was on top of me, pumping, sweating, and speaking to me in Spanish, not a word of which I could understand," she remembers.

But now Kara is happily married, and although no longer on Idol, she's about to launch a new series, Platinum Hit, debuting May 30th on Bravo.