Simon Cowell Says He Fought To Keep Paula Abdul On ‘The X Factor’

A few weeks ago we learned that host Steve Jones and judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul (in that order) were unceremoniously fired from season 2 of The X Factor here in the US. Shortly after news broke of the firings, Simon Cowell issued a short statement expressing his regret over the way things went down. Today we are hearing from Simon again in new comments he made to Extra. According to Cowell, he really wanted to keep Paula as an X Factor judge but he says he was overruled by higher ups. HMMM. Read on to find out what else he has to say about the X Factor casting drama.

Simon Cowell blames himself for the big shakeup at The X Factor, saying he set unreasonable expectations for the show, and was forced to let Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger go when it underperformed. “I would’ve liked to have kept [Paula],” Cowell, 52, tells Extra. “She was very gracious, and I said that to her. She understands it’s business; it’s never personal.” Of Scherzinger, he added: “I don’t think she’s mad. I think she’s disappointed.” Why the big changes? “It’s only because I opened my big (Read more...)

Simon Cowell Scoffs at Beyonce Rumor, Jabs at The Voice

Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones may be out, but Simon Cowell is in. All in. He's the man behind The X Factor and, to his credit, the first to admit that season one did not go as planned.

"Can I do it better than last year? Yes. Will it be better? Yes. But that takes hard work and a lot of planning," the judge/producer says in a new chat with Extra.

So... who might Simon bring in to assist with that task? Did he really offer Beyonce $100 million to join the panel? Cowell addresses these topics in the following interview excerpts.

On letting Abdul go: “I would’ve liked to have kept her. She was very gracious and I said that to her. She understands it’s business; it’s never personal.”

Did he really make that offer to Beyonce? “I have no clue where that came from... The budget for the show is $100 million. That would never, ever happen. It’s absolute nonsense... Even if you had that kind of money. I wouldn’t spend $100 million on one person.”

Does he want Mariah Carey as a judge? "I would love her. But you can’t expect someone (Read more...)

3 Stars, Including Jennifer Aniston, Who Feel Younger Than Their Age

Jennifer Aniston is featured on the cover of the March issue of InStyle and in an interview with the magazine, she opens up about her past and current relationships, her sense of style, and how she doesn’t feel her age. 43-year-old Aniston gets plenty of attention for her great figure, and she says it’s even hard for her to believe she’s aging. She feels young every day. The only time she realizes she’s getting older is when she’s around the “20-something or the new crop of actresses.” Jen admits that she forgets she’s not the same age as them and that you “lose perspective” when you work in the acting industry. When she’s offered roles of mature women, including the part of someone who has a 17-year-old child, her initial reaction is that, “I’m not old enough to have a 17-year-old child!” It takes her a second to realize that, “well, yeah, you are.”

Plenty of celebrities don’t look their age, but Jennifer Aniston doesn’t feel her age either. She’s focused on how she feels rather than just how she looks. Here are a few celebrities that feel younger than they actually are.

Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson says she feels younger now at 32 years old than she did at the age of 24. She was excited to turn 30 because the age, in combination with giving birth to her first son Ryder in her 20s, made her realize she was a young mother.

Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell, 52, feels younger than his age, but gets some help achieving this feeling. He frequently takes vitamins C, B12 and magnesium to make him feel young and look younger too.

American Idol EP Nigel Lythgoe Doesn’t Sweat The Competition Or The Falling Ratings

In fact, he laughs in the face of those other "singing" shows!

This morning, during a press conference call, Nigel Lythgoe held nothing back when talking about the current standing of American Idol and defended it with everything he had in him. When the topic of declining ratings came up, he was quick to point out that the show, now in its 11th season, would always be "compared to itself" and while may not perform like the it did, it's still the "number one show on TV." Personally, he thinks the problem isn't AI, but the over-saturation of the market. He explained:

“We’ve got The Voice and X Factor going now, and we’re all feeding from the same talent pool and of course the same ratings pool…We’d always said we would never two Idols in a single year, and this is why. Now we have X Factor sitting there, and it feels just like Fox is doing two Idols a season. Add to that The Voice and of course there’s going to be viewer fatigue, as much you see when you have too many science fiction dramas or too many hospital dramas on television.”

He makes a valid point. (Read more...)

Simon Cowell Opens Up About The X Factor Bloodbath!! Read What He Really Thinks HERE!!

Simon Cowell already gave his official statement, but let's be real, there's no juice there!! Just stuff cleaned up by a publicist probably...

But NOW he's opened up, and he's saying what's really on his mind about the job massacre that happened over at X Factor. He even has something to say about The Voice!

According to him:

On firing Paula Abdul: I would've liked to have kept her. She was very gracious and I said that to her. She understands it's business; it's never personal.

On firing Nicole Scherzinger: I don't think she's mad. I think she's disappointed.

On keeping L.A. Reid: There's not a record executive out there who is as good as him for the job.

On season one success: It's only because I opened my big mouth and said we were going to get 20 million viewers. If I hadn't said that, everybody would be saying the show was a huge success.

On The Voice's judges as competition: How many hit records have they made? How many artists have they discovered?

On bringing Mariah Carey in: I would love her, but you can't expect someone who's just had two kids to (Read more...)

Madonna Will NOT Be A Judge On X Factor!

No surprises here! She's got PLENTY going on already!

During a press conference for the Super Bowl halftime show, Madonna had the following to say when asked if she would possibly join The X Factor as a judge:

"I think I have enough jobs, but thank you for thinking of me — if you did, Simon [Cowell]."

That's okay, Madge! We're sure Simon will figure out another perfect choice for that judging position! LOLz!

Are U bummed to hear that Madonna won't be judging The X Factor???

[Image via WENN.]

And The Next X Factor Judge Is… Beyonce???

Word on the street is Simon Cowell is offering Beyonce $100 million a year to judge X Factor!!

One year could pay for Blue Ivy's college tuition (not that she and Jay-Z didn't already have that money anyways)!!

According to sources close:

He wants a big-name female star on the panel. Mariah Carey is good, but she's not that hot today. He wants Beyonce because that would immediately give him the bounce needed to beat American Idol.

We like this idea!! We don't know if she's gonna accept the offer, but Beyonce would be ah-mazing for ratings!!

...but don't forget about Perez!! The show needs some extra sass!!

[Image via PNP/WENN.]

Simon Cowell Offers Beyonce HOW Much to Judge The X Factor?!?

With three-fifths of last year's X Factor panel receiving their pink slips this week, a new report claims Simon Cowell had made his first move to replace Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones.

And it's a big... nay, a huge... nay, an ENORMOUS one.

Insiders claim the producer has offered Beyonce $100 million to judge the show next season, a sum that would be the highest annual salary in TV history.

"He wants a big-name female star on the panel," a source tells Media Take Out. "Mariah is good, but she's not that hot today. He wants Beyoncé because that would immediately give him the bounce needed to beat American Idol."

But would Beyonce possibly consider the deal?!?

She already has a few dollars in the bank and is as established an artist as there is today. Then again, she did just give birth, so wouldn't a seat at the judging table be the ideal way to remain buzz-worthy, keep a regular schedule, make SERIOUS coin and spend a time of time with Blue Ivy?

Do you think Beyonce would make a good X Factor judge?

Could Mariah Carey Be The New ‘X-Factor’ Judge?

Just a few days ago we learned that Simon Cowell made the executive decision to get rid of Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones from The X Factor. Statements were made and nicest exchanged, but really we don’t know what actually happened. Today, there is talk going around of Mariah Carey being a possible new judge on the show. Nothing is confirmed and good friend, and manager, Randy Jackson, has just mentioned it… but still, it is not that unbelievable. Read on for the details about what he said about Ms Carey.

Randy Jackson, American Idol judge and Mimi’s manager spoke with reporters yesterday and triggered tongues wagging around town about whether Mariah could be the next X-Factor judge.

When asked if he thinks Carey would be a good judge for The X Factor, Jackson said, “She’d be amazing. I mean, I manage her, so of course I’m going to say that. She’d be amazing…I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen,” he said. “Look, Simon’s one of the smartest people I know. I’m sure he he’s got some very interesting ideas up his sleeve.”

Hmm… is Randy just making empty comments or is he pretending (Read more...)

Simon Wants Mariah To Join X Factor US!!!

We totally saw this coming...and we still love it!

Rumors are floating around saying that Simon Cowell wants Mariah Carey to join the X Factor judging panel.

It's said that Simon wanted Mariah last year but she wasn't available due to her mommy duties.

Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj have also been rumored to be on Simon's list as well.

Looks like Simon's reaching for HUGE stars on this one!

Our offer is still on the table too, you know!

[Image via WENN.]