The X Factor Turmoil: L.A. Reid Not Returning To Show, Britney Spears Also Unlikely

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By Radar Staff

Simon Cowell’s re-vamped The X Factor is not the spectacular ratings success he hoped it would be, and now that L.A. Reid has dropped the bombshell news that he has called it quits, the show has been thrown into serious turmoil!

“I have decided that I will not return to The X Factor next year,” L.A. told Access Hollywood on Thursday night, sending shockwaves through the show.

“I have to go back, and I have a company to run that I’ve kind of neglected, and it saddens me a little bit, but only a little bit,” the music mogul said.

The addition of Britney Spears and Demi Lovato as celebrity judges with mega-star wattage brought in some more viewers, but as RadarOnline.com previously reported, Britney’s future on the show is up in the air.

“Britney, who was signed on a one-year deal, is the first person who will be expected to have her salary chopped. She is on a $15 million contract, which is absurd given that there's been no huge surge in the ratings,” an insider revealed.

Competing with NBC’s The Voice, a runaway hit, and with American Idol’s dramatic return with dueling divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, The X Factor gig for Britney may not continue on Fox.

“Problem is, when Britney signed that contract she expected to make more if an extension for a third season was agreed. That won’t be the case now, and it is highly unlikely Britney will accept a pay decrease.”

As the finals are set to air next week, no announcements are being made about L.A.’s replacement or if Britney will be returning, but the drama surrounding the judges has heavily over shadowed the competitors in The X Factor.

via radaronline.com

 

Britney Spears “walked off” X Factor set again, is she going to be able to do this job?

via celebitchy.com

I was just about to write off Britney’s “walk off” on the X Factor set as an urgent pee break extended too long after Britney got distracted by all the Snickers and Doritos in her dressing room. Kaiser clued me in to this US Weekly story claiming she’d done it again. The strange thing is, TMZ didn’t carry this story. They’ve been crowing about how Britney is unable to do her job on the show, and how she has X Factor producers “over a barrel” because her fat contract states that she can do basically whatever she wants when she’s there. But Simon Cowell and Britney just recorded a little message for TMZ telling them to go easy on her, and they are. Simon denied that there was any “walk out” in his portion of the video, and then Britney came on very quickly and simply said “Play nice Harvey.” Harvey Levin is of course the managing editor of TMZ.

TMZ probably got promised some insider X Factor stories and now they’re going to be “team Britney.” They did mention the second walk off by Britney, but in their version Britney seemed “to be in better spirits“ on her second day, and took “one short break, about five minutes, and she missed one audition … which everyone on set was totally ok with.” Here’s US’ version of that walkoff, which is much more damning to Britney. They have a supposed eyewitness who said that this second exit by Britney seemed very abrupt and that she wasn’t as relaxed as TMZ claims.

X-Factor judge Britney Spears walked off the show’s set during auditions Friday afternoon–just one day after TMZ reported she stormed off “angrily” following a hopeful contestant’s cover of one of her hits. (The singer, 30, slammed the report via Twitter later that day. “Britney walks off??? LOL was just taking a little break people,” she wrote. “I am having the BEST time!!!”)

“After a very popular contestant finished, Brit stood up and immediately walked towards the tunnel where judges enter,” a show source tells Us Weekly of the pop star’s dramatic exit Friday afternoon–adding that it wasn’t clear what spurred the departure. “Her bodyguards [and entourage] jumped up and ran after her. She was moving fast . . . It was odd.” (The witness adds that, after a little while, “she came back,” as though nothing unusual had happened.)

During Thursday’s auditions, the X-Factor source told Us Spears–who will reportedly see a $15 million payday for her stint on the show–seemed “uptight” compared to her fellow judges Simon Cowell, LA Reid and Demi Lovato. “Her body language was reserved,” the source shared.

“Demi, Simon and LA,” on the other hand, “seemed very relaxed and engaged with contestants and the audience,” the witness recounted.

[From US Weekly]

Britney has done two successful tours since her incident(s) in 2008. When you see her performing it’s obvious that she’s lip syncing and that she can’t dance like she used to (she had that knee injury, etc.) but she’s toured virtually without incident. So she’s capable of that. As we’ve talked about quite a lot, she hasn’t done many unscripted interviews, and we’ve heard that her team insisted last year that all video interviews with Britney be pre-taped and pre-approved before airing. So now she’s out there on her own and people are understandably wondering if she can handle it. Maybe we should just wait. I don’t mean to sound patronizing, but it’s possible she’s used to doing whatever the hell she wants and isn’t used to having to sit in one place and do a job for a few hours at a stretch. For 15 million dollars, she should figure it out faster than she is, you know? If that’s even what’s going on here.

The Singing Battle Continues: 'Duets' Judges and 'X Factor' Sound Off on Rival Shows

For a long time, there was one major singing competition show: American Idol. Then last summer, NBC's The Voice joined the U.S. screen with relative success and later in the fall, Idol's Simon Cowell attempted to bring his British franchise The X Factor stateside. This year Idol and The Voice went head to head, inspiring comparisons and an inevitable rivalry for the top spot in the reality singing genre. With ABC joining the popular category with its new show Duets (premiering tonight) and Cowell rebooting X Factor with new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato for its second season, the competition amongst the competition shows is getting heated - and the new judges on the block aren't afraid to defend their latest crop of shows.

Duets' John Legend on The X Factor:
For one of the newest celebrities to join the singing competition game (Legend replaced Lionel Richie two weeks prior to production), John Legend seems to have a lot of confidence in his show and some not-so-nice things to say about The X Factor and its judges Spears and Lovato. The smooth crooner told E! Online, "It's interesting when people, you know, are judging singing competitions when they aren't really singers."

Though Legend seemed to be passing some negative judgment on the new judges, his fellow celebrity mentors had kinder words to share - Kelly Clarkson said she's "a big fan of both of them," and Robin Thicke said he's confident "they'll do nothing but make the show a lot more fun to watch."

The X Factor's Simon Cowell on The Voice:
Boosted from the hype surrounding his two new female judges, Simon Cowell was not shy about sharing his thoughts on competitor The Voice. After hearing the show was "all about the voice," Cowell's first thought was, "Why isn't this on radio?" Cowell told Radio 4's Today Show. "Then suddenly I'm watching it a week or two weeks ago and it's the same as The X Factor. They've got dancers behind them, graphics, lights. Same show." And according to Cowell, "If you try and rip somebody off, it always looks like a bad copy."

America's Got Talent's Howard Stern on The X Factor:
Though not a singing competition, America's Got Talent did gain a new judge this season in radio personality Howard Stern, who also felt compelled to share his opinion on Spears joining The X Factor. "As far as any real criticism, I think Simon and L.A. Reid will be doing that. I think Britney is going to stand there and eat a lollipop and wear a sexy outfit," Stern told Access Hollywood. "I don't anticipate great opinions out of her."

Stern then went on to include American Idol's Jennifer Lopez in his criticism, saying, "I think she's going to sit there like J. Lo and [say], 'Oh, you're wonderful. You're terrific. Do you think I could get a perfume endorsement out of this?'" Nevertheless, Stern said he'll still be watching The X Factor this fall - "to see what kind of train wreck [Britney] is."

Kelly Clarkson on the superiority of Duets:
Though not on the offensive like Legend, Clarkson did have some thoughts on how Duets differs from its competitors. "You could take everyone who has won Idol or The Voice and you'd find maybe three who could harmonize," the pop singer told New York Daily News on the difficulty of being on Duets. "It's an art to know when to shine and when to pull back." Clarkson also claimed her show was harder for its celebrities than other shows, saying, "It's a lot more work than people have to do on Idol or The Voice!"

Watch the Duets promo below, where the Superstars boast their contestants will be "more than just a voice." With all this talk comparing rival singing shows, do you think Duets or Cowell's rebooted X Factor will live up to their words? Only time (and ratings) will tell.

Catford woman Leanne Zaloumis in court over Simon Cowell burglary

 

A CATFORD woman has appeared in court accused of breaking into Simon Cowell's home wielding a broken brick.

Leanne Zaloumis, 29, of Brownhill Road, Catford, is charged with trespassing on the music supremo's west London property before smashing his bathroom window and hiding in his walk-in wardrobe.

She spoke only to confirm her name and address as she was remanded in custody at West London Magistrates' Court for her case to be heard by a crown court judge.

Cowell was watching TV in his bedroom when he heard a "loud bang" coming from his bathroom, prosecutors claim.

Zaloumis was taken to Notting Hill police station after being found in Cowell's mansion, the charge says.

The 52-year-old X Factor judge called his staff and was taken back to his bedroom during the incident at around 10.30pm on Saturday night.

The charge against Zaloumis, read out in court, said she intended to "inflict grievous bodily harm upon a person therein and at the time of committing the said burglary had with you a weapon of offence, namely a broken house brick".

Simon Cowell Admits He Recruited Alesha Dixon For 'BGT' To Get Back At The BBC's 'Silly Rivalry'

 

Simon Cowell is on a one-man mission to take on the mighty BBC after admitting that he 'stole' Alesha Dixon from the Beeb's Strictly judging panel for a seat on Britain's Got Talent as revenge for the BBC launching new singing show, The Voice.

Speaking at the press launch for the new series of Britain's Got Talent, Simon also revealed that he had already tried - and failed - to woo Alesha over to ITV as a judge on The X Factor - a role that eventually went to Tulisa Contostavlos.

"I had actually approached Alesha to join X Factor for some time and couldn't quite get past the finishing posts," he said. "So once we decided we were going to make it four people on the panel I thought I'd love Alesha to join the show having met her through the talks on X Factor.

"And then part of me thought to myself that there's so much rivalry between Strictly and X Factor and all the messing around with the schedule, The Voice was 100% intended to be a competing show to The X Factor so I thought 'great, we'll nick Alesha'"

He then went on to question the Beeb's decision to launch another singing show, describing it as 'silly rivalry'.

"Of course they're in the business of doing it [creating talent shows] but when you get to the point with your shows and you mess around with the schedules and it affects the viewers - that to me is silly rivalry," he said.

"Of course I love competition but if you ask the BBC why do we need another singing talent show I'd query whether you do or not. And in my opinion they don't like the fact that The X Factor is successful, they have every right to compete with us and I have every right to arm ourselves so we're in a good place to be."

> ALL THE PICS FROM THE BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT LAUNCH

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Janet Jackson in Talks to Join 'X Factor'

via rollingstone.com

Janet Jackson is in talks to become a judge on the next season of The X Factor. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the singer is one of a handful of top female pop stars, including Katy Perry and Pink, on producer and lead judge Simon Cowell's list as a potential replacement for Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, who were dismissed from the show after one season.

Jackson tiptoed around the issue in an interview with Anderson Cooper yesterday, telling the host that she is not a judge on X Factor but "that's all I really think I should say" on the topic. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Whitney Houston was approached to join the show just before her death last weekend.

Simon Cowell Wants X Factor USA Winner To A Battle Idol & The Voice Co-Winners!

via mtv.co.uk

Simon Cowell has revealed he would love to hold a sing-off between the next winners of The X Factor USA, American Idol and The Voice.

The music mogul made the suggestion on Twitter, stating that he would like to see who would be crowned the ultimate US talent show contestant in a head-to-head final.

Teasing the second season of The X Factor USA, SiCo tweeted: "We have a few surprises to announce soon. This is getting interesting...

"Maybe the winner of @TheXFactorUSA this yr should compete with winner of The Voice & Idol in a super final. Just a thought. I'd be up for it."

In response to Cowell's post, Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe seemed to poke fun at SiCo's idea, writing on his official page: "@simoncowell suggests the IDOL winner should take on the Voice and X-Factor winners. The problem is the Idol winner will be a star by then."

Following the departure of X Factor USA judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson is the latest name to be linked to the show.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that Michael Jackson's sister and the show producers are in the early stages of discussing the role, with Janet refusing to confirm the rumours during an interview with Anderson Cooper earlier this week.

Simon Cowell To Launch Reality Competition For DJs

Though most of America probably couldn’t pick David Guetta out of a lineup, his name and brand is bigger than ever — and Simon Cowell knows this. In a sea of singing competitions watering down primetime television, Cowell will attempt to stray from the pack (that includes himself) and launch a show searching for the world’s best new DJ. “DJs are the new rock stars,” said Cowell, whose SYCO Entertainment will team up with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment to produce. “It feels like the right time to make this show.” At least we know there won’t be any Beatles theme nights. [Via PopDust]

via idolator.com

Simon: 'X Factor' judges made some mistakes

Simon Cowell admits mistakes were made on "The X Factor’s" inaugural season. Namely: being too British, letting too many votes go uncast and allowing too many deadlocks to decide outcomes that could have been decidedly different.

Those were the head judge’s words at an afternoon press conference held Monday on the "X Factor" stage. It would mark the last time the remaining three contestants — Josh Krajcik, Melanie Amaro and Chris Rene — make a public appearance before heading into performance mode. On Wednesday, the trio goes head-to-head in one last showdown of vocal might.

After three months of competition, there is no clear favorite to point to. While Melanie and Josh are exceptional singers, Chris Rene has an undeniable knack for writing hooks. Where Chris and Melanie are easier to market, Josh, a virtual guitar god, has them beat in the musicality department. And each has his or her loyal legion of fans at the ready, tweeting messages of support and encouragement. Who’ll emerge victorious is a total toss-up at this point.

“I’m really proud of the top three,” said judge LA Reid. “They’re all amazingly talented and unique in their own right they have a distinct competitive advantage — big on talent and loads of charisma.”

But is it the right final three? It didn’t take long before Simon brought up the earlier-than-expected dismissal of Rachel Crow. “The process didn’t work,” he said, “If everyone had done their job properly that week, the judges should have saved her.” Asked what kind of improvements he might consider for the future, he answered, “I’m not gonna change the system just suggest we do a better job in the future.”

It was a jab directed squarely at Nicole Scherzinger, who confessed, “the elimination process has been really hard… it’s something I could have never prepared for.” OK, so A&R executive is not in her future, but considering she was the one who gunned for the judging position — after a very contentious exit by Cheryl Cole — one has to wonder whether she can handle the responsibility of looking someone in the eye and saying, “That wasn’t good enough.”

 

We didn’t get the answer on Monday. Asked about getting a bad rap in the press (death threats from viewers was not mentioned), Nicole would only say, “For me what’s important is to live in the moment and make sure I finish my job.”

But criticism wasn’t limited to Rachel Crow’s elimination night. At one point LA told Simon he thought Drew’s rendition of “Billie Jean” was “god-awful” and said Josh’s take on Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana” was “pretty bad.” For his part, Simon mocked “Lakoda Rayne and their four seasons.”

Still, Simon was perhaps hardest on himself, from overestimating the ratings to predicting an out-the-gate hit. He blamed it on his own ego, but made no apologies for it. Said Simon: “I’m cocky by nature, but I’d come off a massive final in the UK, I had adrenaline, I couldn’t wait to put the show on here and it’s gonna take a little bit longer than I thought.”

He also acknowledged that his British sensibility where song choices were concerned may have been a bit off the mark. “I learned that I’m not American — that was a big factor of where I got things right and where I got things wrong,” said Simon, revealing that as recently as the previous night, he had changed Melanie’s song because he believed “it was too British and too old for her — I’m trying to think American,” he added.

And where entertainment is concerned, Simon certainly has a winning record, one he plans to repeat with this year’s finale. On deck: each finalist will duet with a star they admire, a few Top 10 alums will do the same (THR revealed one such pairing on Friday), guest performers include Ne-Yo and Pitbull and a couple more that have yet to be revealed (negotiations are ongoing).

PHOTOS: Behind the scenes with Simon Cowell's right-hand woman

All that aside "With these three, this will be the greatest final ever in terms of talent,” Simon promised. “No one could call this show… Amazing vocalists, great recording artists, I’m more excited about this week than anything for a long while and one of these artists will be the legacy for this year. This is $5 million talent.”

What do you think is the biggest mistake the judges have made? Share your thoughts on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker.

Copyright 2011 The Hollywood Reporter

Paula Abdul And Cheryl Cole Not Yet Hired For X Factor

via cinemablend.com

Reports out of the X Factor camp this morning indicated the much-ballyhooed judges’ search was finally complete with Paula Abdul and Cheryl Cole taking the final two slots, but apparently, those finalized reports weren’t quite as final as they seemed. Headman Simon Cowell’s representative came out firing in response not long after the news broke, claiming nothing is set in stone and those two ladies were just a few possibilities among many. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say what the hell is going on with the X-Factor?
With auditions already under way and a Fox network premiere set for September, we’re well past the point of smooth transitions. Even if Cole and Abdul are hired by the end of the week, they’re still likely to be far less comfortable with the format once the cameras roll. I fully expect a ton of people to tune into the premiere of X-Factor, but if many write it off initially as a below-average American Idol imitation, they won’t be likely to see it through.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, George Michael and Mariah Carey are among the other names being considered, but then again, who knows? Would anyone really be surprised if the X-Factor just gave up and went with Simon and L.A. Reid as the only two judges? What a fiasco.

Jessica Simpson up for judge role in X Factor

Simon Cowell of course is putting together X Factor for the US. So far no celebrity judges have been confirmed but Porny is definitely one of the possibilities even though, dumbass, she denied it two weeks ago.

via laineygossip.com