14 DAY TRIAL // L.A. Reid, Paula Abdul, Chery Cole and Simon Cowell himself will be the judges on the US version of X Factor, which will premiere this fall and for which auditions are already held. That is, if Simon Cowell gets his way, as he reveals in a recent interview with Deadline.
As of now, the only two judges officially confirmed for the much-anticipated show are Cowell and music producer L.A. Reid. Countless other names have been thrown in the mix these past few months.
Among them are Nicole Scherzinger, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, even Rihanna and Barbara Streisand at one point.
In the aforementioned interview, Cowell puts the rumors to rest – and reveals his shortlist, which includes, as expected, former American Idol judge Paula Abdul and Cheryl Cole, whom he’d bring over from the British version of the show, now at its 8th season.
Speaking of Paula, Simon says he’s not yet started negotiations with her, but she’s been at the top of his list ever since she left AI because of a money dispute.
“I’ve always wanted Paula. Always been very vocal about that. I missed her the second she left the show. Always loved working with her even though she can be a pain. And I’ve been consistent about this,” Simon says.
“I don’t know what it is about her, but I’ve always clicked with her. You just have to get that chemistry, and she’s right. I’ve never found anyone better than her. I think there’s a good chance it will be her,” Cowell adds.
“We’ve agreed that we would meet as many people as possible, and now we’re reaching the deadline we’ve got to make the decision soon. But I think she’s got a really good shot,” he says.
As for Cheryl, Simon doesn’t even care that American audiences might not understand her thick accent of that they can’t relate to her because she’s a virtual unknown across the pond, regardless of how famous she is back home in the UK.
From what he says, Cheryl’s is a done deal – and the only thing left is the announcement, which should be made sometime next week, at the latest.
“With Cheryl, when I hired her initially, I’d only met her literally once when I offered her the job on [British] X Factor. I thought she was bright, cute, knew what she was talking about, ambitious. And you meet someone special a few times in your life,” Simon says.
He’s not the only one to think that, since Fox bosses also fell in love with her the moment they saw her “in action” – and even considered her seriously for American Idol.
“This girl is special. She’s just got a great ability to communicate. She’s a great judge. She’s smart. It’s just a hunch. If people take to her like the British public did, I think she’s going to do really well in America. And Fox was desperate to hire her,” Cowell says.