14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors have been making the rounds for weeks now that, in his attempt to bring down all competition with season 2 of X Factor USA, Simon Cowell pursued Pop Princess Britney Spears for judge. They were confirmed hours ago, when the official announcement was made at the Fox television upfronts.
You can see video for it below, embedded at the end of the article.
Of the judges from the first season of the show, which Simon imported from the UK where it's the most popular of its kind, only Simon himself and L.A. Reid return for the second season.
Nicole Scherzinger (who replaced Cheryl Cole) and Paula Abdul, fired some months ago, will be replaced by Britney Spears and Demi Lovato.
It is believed that Cowell made his choices thinking of ways to boost ratings by going for the younger audience with these two pop stars.
As you can see in the video below, Britney seemed rather nervous during the press event, considerably so than Demi, which has already sparked some debate on whether she will be able to deal with the pressure that comes with the live shows.
However, she made it a point of saying she was thrilled to be part of such a massive project, which she can compare with nothing she ever worked on.
Demi too said she was thrilled to be on X Factor and, at the same time, ready to find the biggest and most talented star.
Still, it was Simon who claimed to be the most thrilled at the new panel of judges, since it's been a year in the making.
“I'm absolutely delighted Britney and Demi are joining us,” he told the press after the big announcement.
“Britney remains one of the biggest stars in the world, she's talented, fascinating – and I believe she knows exactly how to spot THE X FACTOR. Demi's had an amazing career in music, TV and film for someone her age. She’s young, confident, and enthusiastic,” Cowell explained.
“I think it's really important that she speaks to our younger audience. The new panel will be dynamic and will work really well with the changes we are making to the show,” he added.
Initial reports claimed that Britney was offered $10 million (€7.63 million) for the job. Word has it now that she actually signed for $15 million (€11.6 million).
