14 DAY TRIAL // Paula Abdul will not be returning for the next season of the popular US singing competition – at least that’s the story being circulated in the media today. One of the possible replacements for her was, until recently, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, a talented singer and aspiring solo artist with more than enough common sense and experience. Unfortunately, Cole is not willing to relocate to the US to fill Abdul’s seat, an insider tells Metro, as cited by STV.
Becoming a fixture of American Idol would mean that Cheryl Cole would have to spend most of her time in the US and leave husband Ashley Cole behind, back in the UK. This, the source reveals, is a compromise the star is not willing to make just yet, no matter how much money is being thrown at her or not. There is also the issue of her current contract with The X Factor that has just been renewed that might make signing with American Idol too difficult, the same insider says.
“Cheryl hasn’t had any TV meetings since she’s been over there. There have never been plans for her to go on US TV. It would mean she would have to leave Britain, which she won’t do because it’s her home. She wouldn’t leave Ashley behind. She’s only over there to work on her new solo album in the studio. She only wants to focus on her music. That’s what she is – a singer.” the unnamed, but reportedly reliable spy adds, in response to earlier allegations that Cole had already met with Simon Cowell and the show’s producers to discuss offers.
Rumors of Cheryl replacing longstanding judge Paula Abdul on the show have also been fueled by the former’s presence in the US right at the moment when news broke that Abdul had a fallout with producers and did not want to return. As the insider also points out, though, Cole is in the country solely for the purpose of working on her solo album, on which she collaborates closely with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.
At the same time, although Abdul’s rep has already stated the singer will not return for the next season of AI, speculation in the media has it that she’s only playing the hard-to-get game to get a raise from the network. Host Ryan Seacrest’s paycheck, for instance, was just upped to $15 million per season for a three-year period, and Paula Abdul would want the same, it is being currently said.