earsucker

Apparently “American Idol” is ready to jump on the Howard Stern bandwagon. After Mr. Nasty, Simon Cowell, announced that he was jumping ship next year for “X Factor” in the States, that left a lot of people wondering who is going to fill his shoes.

According to Page Six, it may just be the Shock Jock himself. Idol insiders say that Stern is their top pick for a replacement for Cowell and they have approached him to take his empty judge’s seat on the singing competition.

A source said, “It’s one of the few shows that could compete with Stern’s $100 million-a-year Sirius contract, and Idol bosses think he’s be even nastier than Simon. They know he would be great TV and would clash with the other judges such as Ellen DeGeneres and the contestants. Idol will do what it takes to sign him.”

But don’t count your chickens before they hatch, another source is claiming that Stern doesn’t want to leave Sirius just yet. The second source said, “Despite what he’s been saying on-air, Howard isn’t ready to leave radio and would like to stay on at Sirius. We believe this is a play to make Sirius pay up and keep him on his huge contract. But if Sirius can’t pay him the money he wants, he may negotiate to film Idol on the side.”

Stern said, “I was approached by a major TV network to take over a TV show and leave here and do that next year — and I did turn it down…I’m not even sure if I want to be working. I’m waiting to see what happens.”

Do you think Stern should fill Cowell’s seat on “American Idol”?