Mariah Carey Is Too Legendary to Be X Factor USA Judge

With Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones out of the picture for the second season of X Factor USA, Simon Cowell has a lot of scouting to do to fill these positions. One singer who will not be willing to get into negotiations with him is Mariah Carey.

Shortly after confirmation came that Cowell had chosen not to renew the contracts of two judges (Abdul and Scherzinger) and the host (Jones), speculation had already started about the stars he had in mind to bring on board.

One possible option for judge was Mariah Carey, word online had it.

If Cowell ever considered it, it's not going to happen, Mariah's husband Nick Cannon says, as cited by EntertainmentWise.

Mariah is simply too legendary to be doing a show like X Factor, Nick explains. She doesn't believe in any of them and has a lot of things going on already to rely on it for publicity.

“Like Nicole Scherzinger, my wife is not a fan of judging people. Nicole actually did say that she is used to performing, and the judging thing is not really natural for her,” Nick says.

“I really think that a lot of entertainers feel that way and I think these shows are really good shows, but when you get someone of status, or just big-time, career-wise, to do these shows, I personally think it’s a step down,” he adds.

If Mariah agreed to be on the judges panel on X Factor, she would be taking a step back instead of forward.

“Why would would my wife want to be on a show like that? For somebody who has a legendary career, I don’t know why they would do that,” Cannon says.

Should one believe rumors online, even assuming Mariah isn't interested in Cowell's offer, he still has plenty to choose from.

Word has it that he's also thinking of approaching Nicki Minaj or Katy Perry for the judging positions. Rihanna and Britney Spears' names have also been thrown in the mix.