X Factor Trivia!
Delay hiring judge Paula Abdul not over Simon Cowell fights?
[May 11]
With talks having been in the works for some time now, it has been revealed that Paula Abdul will be one of the judges on the U.S. version of Simon Cowell‘s The X Factor, which originally debuted in the United Kingdom, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The pair sealed the deal with a kiss, notes OK! Magazine. Paula Abdul was known as a feisty counterpart to pop music judge Simon Cowell on American Idol before Cowell left to establish the now famous X Factor franchise. The two were famous for their love-hate relationship inspired fights. Over the weekend, it still was unclear if Paula Abdul would be able to take on the project, not because of the celebrity couple not wanting to work together again but because of an option CBS had on Abdul, following Live to Dance. However, negotiations with CBS reportedly have released Abdul to work for X Factor and both the pop star celeb dancer and singer and Simon Cowell are looking forward to facing off once again.
Simon Cowell, according to MTV News:
“This show would never have been the same without Paula and I can’t believe I am saying this — I have missed her a lot, and I am thrilled she’s on the show,” said Cowell.
Paula Abdul playfully mirrored the sentiment:
“[I] know that it will be an extraordinary journey — we’re going to have a blast. I’m also delighted and grateful to be sitting next to Simon again … but you might want to check back with me in a week or two!”
Although reports say some details are still being ironed out, Abdul completes the panel of judges, which include former co-judge Simon Cowell, former music executive Anonio Reid, and U.K. X Factor judge Cheryl Cole. Simon Cowell has said the audience will serve as the fifth judge, though there have been some issues in the past with X Factor audience members getting a little too zealous about expressing negative opinions of contestants. British TV personality Steve Jones and former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger will be co-hosting the U.S. version of X Factor, according to MSN TV.
X Factor in the U.S. will be broadcast on Fox and will have a slightly different fromat than the classic American Idol. In the show, the judges each will mentor a contestant finalist, helping with a particular category like style, song choice, etc., before returning to judge all the contestants on all categories.