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In the mass firings surrounding The X Factor USA, one person besides Simon Cowell has retained his judging job — L.A. Reid! Last month, it was announced that Simon had given walking papers to host Steve Jones and judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger.

Now, L.A. has been confirmed to return for his judging duties on the second season of the show. His salary is yet to be confirmed, but Fox has agreed to having him return.

L.A. did sign Astro to his record label, while Paula and Nicole failed to net the show any real stars…save for maybe Josh Krajcik. Neither Simon nor Fox have made a statement on L.A.’s return to the show, but Simon did thank Steve, Paula and Nicole for their season one duties.

He said in a statement, “I want to say a massive thank you to Paula, Nicole and Steve for being part of The X Factor last year. I’m sure all three are going to have massive success in what they do next, but now is the time to thank them all for everything they did last year.”

Who are you most saddened to see leave the show? We were mostly bummed out to hear that Paula got the axe, primarily because she wasn’t really given that much of a chance on season one with the groups category. What do you think?

Last week, we learned that Simon Cowell really cleaned house on The X Factor USA. He fired host Steve Jones and fellow judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, leaving himself and L.A. Reid to judge the singing competition.

It was quite the shocking dismissal when he handed all three of them their walking papers, but he wants to make it up to us by hiring Beyonce. Reportedly the mogul has offered Beyonce a cool $100 million to judge the second season of the show.

According to a source, “He wants a big name female star on the panel. Mariah 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.”

Truthfully, we don’t care who he hires for the job, as long as it’s not Perez Hilton. He has officially started his campaign to become a judge on the show, but rest assured, we would be tuning out if he landed it. Would you watch if Perez Hilton was judging? Or would you prefer to see Beyonce on the show?

Photo Credit: Greg Tidwell, PacificCoastNews.com

Now that Steve Jones is out at the host of The X Factor USA, who is going to fill his shoes? It’s being rumored that American Idol host Ryan Seacrest might be taking the job.

If Ryan were approached to take the hosting duties for Simon Cowell’s talent show, wouldn’t that mean the show is becoming American Idol 2.0?

Ryan is a good host and the show definitely needs a boost since ousting the Welsh host, Steve. However, after hearing Ryan utter the words, “This…is…American Idol!” so many times, would you want him to join The X Factor? Could you imagine him as the host of both shows?

Will Simon seek out Ryan to host the show? Or will he opt to find some new talent for the hosting job? Who should he hire to take on that role?

It’s also being rumored that Simon is looking to get Mariah Carey on the show as a judge. That move would definitely bring some star power to the show, but is she the right choice?

Would you watch if Ryan is hosting and L.A. Reid, Mariah Carey and Simon Cowell are judging? What could they do to bring you in as a viewer? Hit the comments with your thoughts!

Photo Credit: Thomas Janssen / PCN Photos

There have been some rumblings in the past about whether or not Steve Jones’ contract with The X Factor USA would be renewed.

Back in December, a source said, “The executives at Fox have already decided not to renew his contract and so, short of a miracle happening, it is pretty much a done deal that he will not take part next season.”

Despite that, a spokesperson for The X Factor said, “No discussions have been had and no decisions will be made about any new contracts until the New Year.”

Now, it seems that things might be going south for the host! Simon Cowell said, “I don’t think he did a bad job but, like America’s Got Talent, there is a Brit limit on the show.”

Fox Entertainment chief, Kevin Reilly, previously said, “Whether Steve’s the guy or not, it comes under the heading of growth in general, so there will be some tweaks to the show. Hosting, as we know, it is a much harder job than meets the eye. I think everybody now has come to realize the value of Ryan Seacrest.”

Do you think they should replace Steve Jones? If so, who should replace him? Hit the comments and let us know what you think!

Photo Credit: Greg Tidwell / PCN Photos

After Melanie Amaro was crowned the first winner of The X Factor USA, Simon Cowell and company are gearing up for some changes to the show for season two.

The show has already started auditions for the next season, but Simon wants us all to know that we should be ready for some changes. In a new interview, he said, “Can we make the show better? Yes. I will never ever go into anything going forward unless I can believe I can make it better. Next year will be a bloodbath. We have to come out with something better than the rest, and that’s what we aim to do.”

Paula Abdul said, “It’ll be successful if you are open to tweaking things. I understand pros and cons of the value of having these big production numbers, but…I am a fan of less is more.”

It appears that all of the judges are up for the next go around, except for maybe Nicole Scherzinger. She said that the show took a lot out of her, adding, “I’m an artist first, not a judge. At the beginning of next year, I’m focusing on my album and going on tour in Europe.”

Do you want Nicole Scherzinger to return as a judge on The X Factor USA? Will you be watching season two of the show? Sound off in the comments!

Music mogul Simon Cowell has admitted that he has made some mistakes with The X Factor USA. He revealed that he was a bit cocky about the launch of the show here in the States. He also made a prediction that the show would get twenty million viewers.

In a new interview, he said, “I’m cocky by nature. But I’d come off a massive final in the U.K., 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’s still rooting for his remaining contestant, Melanie Amaro, but said that he made some bad song choices during the show. He said, “I learned that I’m not American – that was a big factor of where I got things right and where I got things wrong.”

When speaking about Melanie’s final song, he added, “The song was too British and too old for her — I’m trying to think American.”

Will you be watching the show when the finale airs? Who are you rooting for to win it all? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

Rumor has it that Steve Jones might just be hosting The X Factor USA for only one season! Oh noes! We’re fans of Steve at the Earsucker headquarters, so we don’t like the thought of them replacing him. Ugh.

The first season of the show ends on Thursday, when America crowns its first X Factor champion and winner of a five million dollar recording contract. According to a source close to the situation, Steve has been fired from the show.

An insider said that only a miracle would keep Steve on the show and he’s said to be devastated over the decision. A source said, “Steve keeps saying that living in L.A. is a dream come true. He loves the weather and the women, and he loves working on X Factor – it’s just a shame that the U.S. public has not warmed to him. He got terrible reviews from critics when he started and things haven’t go better. There have been mistakes and he just doesn’t seem to have the knack for dealing with contestants.”

The source said, “The executives at Fox have already decided not to renew his contract and so, short of a miracle happening, it is pretty much a done deal that he will not take part next season.”

But — there is still hope! An X Factor spokesperson said, “No discussions have been had and no decisions will be made about any new contracts until the New Year.”

Of the rumors and speculation, Steve said, “You can’t second guess the Dark Lord, you really can’t! But, you know, I’m happy with the way I performed over the course of the series, and hopefully Simon Cowell is as well. It’s difficult to gauge Simon because he only ever approaches you and talks to you when you’ve done anything wrong.”

What do you think of the reports? Do you want to see Steve Jones back for season two of The X Factor? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

Photo Credit: Fallen Star, PacificCoastNews.com

Music mogul Simon Cowell says that he has considered the idea of an intimate relationship with his X Factor USA co-judge Paula Abdul.

The two have long rumored to be dating, but Simon finally admitted that he once thought about it. On Barbara Walters’ special, the 10 Most Fascinating People, he talked of their relationship over the years.

He said, “We didn’t like each other in the beginning. I think it was sexual tension – on her part.”

Barbara then asked, “That she really wanted you?”

He responded, “A million percent.”

Then she asked, “What happened? Did you want her?”

He answered, “I considered it. But then I thought, I don’t think the after would be as good as before.”

Barbara prodded with another question, asking him if it was because he didn’t want to wake up with her. He responded, “I’d let her stay for a few hours, but then it would have to be ‘Good night.’

He added, “If you’re watching Paula, it is true.”

Do you think they should just hook up and get it over with already? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts!

In a shocking elimination, Rachel Crow was cast off from The X Factor USA last night. It came down to between Rachel and Marcus Canty. It was familiar territory for Marcus, who was in the bottom two for the third time in a row. This was a first for Rachel, who has always performed way above par.

After their respective performances, Nicole Scherzinger made the decision to allow America to decide who was going home. In the end, Rachel had the lowest votes and was eliminated.

Simon Cowell wasn’t upset with Nicole’s decision, however. He said, “I know when someone’s doing something for the right reasons and I have to be fair like that. There were no games being played tonight. Because I thought we were so safe, I thought, that’s quite a nice gesture to do, to let Marcus go. I went to see her afterwards and this is all off-camera stuff. You know when someone’s lying. She was distraught.”

Rachel took to her Twitter account to discuss the elimination. She said, “Thank u so much to all of my fans I love you so much. I am sad tonight but I will bounce back and be fine tomorrow :) Please don’t be angry with @nicolesherzy she was put in such a tough position. I love u all so much.”

As far as who she’s throwing her support behind? She tweeted, “@MrChrisRene @TheXFactorUSA I miss u already too now go win this thing!!”

In the end, she tweeted, “I am so thankful to have such amazing fans thank u for sticking by me. I love u with all my heart.”

We’ll miss you on the show Rachel!

What did you think of the results? Let us know in the comments!

Now that Lakoda Rayne has been eliminated on last week’s elimination episode of The X Factor USA, we were wondering what the show would have Paula Abdul do? Since she no longer has a group to mentor, would she be given the heave-ho from the show? We’ve got your answer!

The X Factor Digital Correspondent, Jim Cantiello, talked with Simon Cowell about the possibilities before Lakoda Rayne were given the boot from the show. So, would he have eliminated her?!?

Watch the video: (after the jump, due to autoplay) (continue reading…)

Well it looks like shock jock Howard Stern has got X Factor USA host Simon Cowell in his corner for the judging position on America’s Got Talent. The position was vacated by Piers Morgan, who went on to do his own show.

Simon said that he likes the idea of Howard taking Piers’ place on the show, but also revealed that he doesn’t really have a say in the matter.

In a new interview with Access Hollywood, Simon said, “I like him. There’s a lot of people who make decisions on this stuff. Money’s got to work, schedules have got to work. There might be a few twists and turns still.”

Interesting. But do they have anyone else in mind? Simon’s not telling!

He added, “I can’t tell you. That’s neither a yes or a no.”

It has been rumored that the show has already been in some negotiations with Howard over taking over the judging role on the show.

Would you watch America’s Got Talent if Howard Stern were judging the competition? Do you think he would be polarizing enough to bring in viewers? I know I would watch!

Photo Credit: Fame Pictures