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Before the first season of The X Factor USA aired, Steve Jones and Nicole Scherzinger were set to share the hosting duties for the show. Instead, the show opted to have Steve host the show and make Nicole a judge.

Now, we are hearing reports that the show is contemplating a two host platform. FreemantleMedia North America CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz said, “Simon’s vision was always to have a man and woman host this and to make it feel a little bit like an award ceremony. A glamorous girl and a good-looking guy doing a kind of double act.”

The CEO revealed that the show had a lot of trouble differentiating itself from American Idol. With regard to fellow judge Paula Abdul, Simon felt that his chemistry with her was too reminiscent of Idol. The CEO said, “There was no way around it. In terms of making the show feel different, everyone felt we needed to put it in a different situation.”

Since, we’ve learned that Simon has been thinking of taking on Mariah Carey for a judging position on the show. In addition, there have been talks surrounding adding Janet Jackson to the judge’s table. So who should host? What do you think?

On February 17th, music mogul Simon Cowell took to his official Twitter account to suggest that the winners of the big three singing competitions go head-to-head in a super final. He tweeted, “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.”

Now that would be completely interesting and you know we would watch. We love these competition shows, so we can only imagine how well a special featuring the best of the best would go over. Would you watch?

Now, one of the judges of The Voice, Adam Levine, is discussing the idea in a recent interview. He said, “Simon’s just so clever. He’s so hell bent on competing with other shows. We’re not really interested in a way. That’s kind of a cool idea, actually, but I’m not so sure we’re totally interested in what everyone else is doing. We’re just kind of worrying about what we do ’cause we all know the more we worry about everybody else, the more the quality of what you’re doing tends to suffer. So, we want to just do what we do.”

In case you’ve missed last night’s episode of The Voice, you can check out our full episode recap here. Do you think that Simon’s idea is a good one? Would you like to see Melanie Amaro battle it out with the future winners of American Idol and The Voice? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

Photo Credit: PacificCoastNews.com

Janet Jackson is said to be in preliminary talks with Simon Cowell to join The X Factor USA as a judge for the talent competition. After the news broke that Simon terminated Steve Jones, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, we were curious as to whom he would get to replace them.

Janet talked to Anderson Cooper on Thursday, but was said to have tiptoed around the possibility of joining the show. She said, “Oh my God. No I’m not a judge on The X Factor.”

Anderson replied, “You’re not currently a judge on The X Factor.”

She said in response, “No, I am not. But that’s all I really think I should say.”

Reportedly Simon has been in meetings with potential candidates to replace the ousted judges. Another source told The Hollywood Reporter that Pink is on Simon’s wish list for a judging seat. The source said that “she can take on Simon.”

Another snitch revealed that Simon has also shown interest in hiring Katy Perry for a spot. The music mogul said, “I worked with Katy once. I think she would be fun because she is hard — in a good way — and she’s feisty. She would be great. In terms of experience, success…brilliant.”

Would you like to see Janet Jackson, Pink and/or Katy Perry judging The X Factor? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

Photo Credit: Jean Catuffe / PCN Photos

Former host of The X Factor USA, Steve Jones, says that he has no hard feelings toward the show or its creator, Simon Cowell.

It was confirmed last month that Simon wanted to go in another direction and had axed Steve, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger for the show’s upcoming second season.

When speaking about his termination, he said that he accepted the show’s tough nature and added that he wouldn’t have any reservations about working with Simon again in the future.

He said, “I have no hard feelings whatsoever towards Simon. It’s a tough business and anyone trying to get into it should always keep in mind that it can go tits up in a heartbeat. I’d work with Simon on the moon if given the chance.”

He went on to say that while he was disappointed that he got the axe, he is privilege to have worked on the show in the first place. He added, “I loved working in L.A. The best bit was working, the worst bit was not working. I have made some great American friends and I have learned that America/Los Angeles is wicked.”

Photo Credit: Greg Tidwell / PCN Photos

Auditions for the second season of The X Factor USA are set to open on March 1st with open call auditions starting in Kansas City on March 14th. So what’s going to change for the show since season one crowned Melanie Amaro its winner?

The show’s executive Simon Cowell has said that things will be different this year. In a new interview, he said that it doesn’t matter if his hopefuls already have management deals — they can still audition!

He said, “We wanted to change a few things this year, so starting with the auditions, we’ve torn up the rulebook again. Even if you have management you can still enter, and we are making it easier by extending the online auditions and taking the MyStudio booths to even more cities. You can enter as many times as you want and come to any of the cities, too. We’re hear to discover stars from all music styles including groups. I really believe a group can win this show!”

L.A. Reid said, “In the music industry, when you’re looking for new talent you can discover it anywhere. The X Factor is opening this up to go further than anyone has before, and that’s what it takes, so I can’t wait to see what amazing talent we might find. I urge people to go out and audition, this is the real deal.”

Are you going to audition for the second season of The X Factor USA?

We have learned from American Idol host Ryan Seacrest that the show will find some way to pay tribute to fallen singer Whitney Houston.

During his coverage of the Grammy Awards, he said, “I can tell you now that I was on the phone with American Idol producers. We are trying to figure out how we can go in and obviously pay tribute in some way and acknowledge the impact that she had on popular singers, popular music and young singers that are trying to make it. So we’ll see.”

Simon Cowell recently revealed that he was considering Whitney for a judging spot on The X Factor USA. Also of note, Nigel Lythgoe claimed that he wanted Whitney as a mentor on this season of American Idol.

Whitney was 48 when she passed away suddenly on Saturday afternoon. It was said that she could have passed away as a result of a dangerous combination of Xanax and alcohol. She was found by her aunt in her Beverly Hilton suite, with her face submerged underwater.

Rest in peace, Whitney. Let’s hope the show pays you a fitting tribute.

Photo Credit: CPA, PacificCoastNews.com

Now that Simon Cowell has axed Steve Jones, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger from The X Factor USA, rumors are running rampant about who he’s going to get to replace all of them.

The speculation began when it was rumored that Simon was considering asking Mariah Carey and Beyonce, but now new rumors have popped up, suggesting that he really wants Katy Perry on the show.

In a new interview with Extra, Simon said, “I worked with Katy once. Think she would be fun because she is hard – in a good way – and she’s feisty.”

Would you watch the show if Katy Perry were made a judge? Simon has ruled out any possibility of having Elton John as a judge, adding, “Absolutely not. He wouldn’t do it and he’d be really difficult to work with.”

Who do you think Simon should get to replace Paula, Nicole and Steve? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts!

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

Things at The X Factor USA have all been shaken up! We’ve learned that Steve Jones, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul are all out of the show! What is Simon Cowell thinking?!??

We’ve heard rumors at the end of the first season that Steve wasn’t working out for the show…but this is a bit drastic, isn’t it? I mean, Paula Abdul, too?!?

Steve released a statement, confirming his departure. He tweeted last night, “I won’t be hosting next season’s X Factor which is a shame, but I can’t complain as I’ve had a great time. Good luck to everyone on the show.”

Later, it was revealed that Nicole was also asked not to return and that Simon has “given her his blessing.”

Since, it’s been said that Paula had to go, too. Let’s hope that is just a rumor and she will be returning for season two. Fox has yet to comment on the reports of her termination.

What do you think of the news? Can you imagine the show without Steve, Paula or Nicole? The only people who are left are Simon and L.A. Reid. Who will Simon get to host the show now? Should he try for the gold and get Ryan Seacrest? That would be something, wouldn’t it?

Hit the comments with your thoughts on the news!

Update: Paula has released a statement saying that her termination was amicable. I wonder how much they had to pay for that?

Christine Bleakley is said to be replacing The X Factor USA host, Steve Jones. This is not good news, people. We like Steve. We’ve been on the Steve Jones bandwagon ever since his fine self graced the stage and basically told Paula Abdul to STFU.

It’s been already rumored that Steve was fired from the show after hosting only one season, but he has responded to the reports, saying that he would like to come back for season two.

Simon Cowell has reportedly already sought out Steve’s replacement and found it in former Daybreak host Christine Bleakley. She’s in the process of considering a move to the U.S. for the show.

A source revealed, “She gets on very well with Simon and he’s always maintained at some point they will work together. After Dancing On Ice is done and dusted by the spring, there’s nothing keeping her in the U.K. if she wanted to move abroad. The Americans love an Irish presenter and Christine has potential to work very well in the U.S.”

Listen up, Simon. Keep Steve. You want the female audience in the States, don’t you? Do we have to start a petition?