X Factor looking for star power
Popsters top list of possible judges
Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Britney Spears all have “the x factor,” a little something-something they share — along with some mutual connections to the Mouse House and an appetite for scandal.
They’re also three of the celebrities supposedly being courted for The X Factor’s rejigged judges’ panel. So says The Hollywood Reporter, anyway, and since Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul left the reality series at the close of last season, the show is desperate for some new talking heads. Season 2 auditions, after all, launch this month.
Lovato, 19, is in final negotiations for a judging job, according to The Hollywood Reporter — never mind a schedule that includes a just-announced North American tour. (The performer, who famously entered rehab in late 2010 after melting down during her world tour with the Jonas Brothers, released her current album, Unbroken, in September 2011.)
Still, Lovato’s not the only candidate, and, as THR notes, “The deal is not yet done and could fall apart.” If, as THR suggests,
The X Factor is looking to cast a judge who will appeal to The Youngs, Miley Cyrus could also be a contender. E! News reports that producers are interested in the former Hannah Montana star, who has most recently been pushing her film career (new flick LOL arrives this weekend). That said, E! reports that Cyrus has yet to receive a formal offer from the show, and the outlet suggests she’s just one of several names being buzzed about — then leaked? — by the program’s insiders. Avril Lavigne, who was a guest performer during Season 1, is also being “discussed” as a potential judge, for example, and other names, including Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, have been knocking around for months.
Spears’ spot on the show seems more certain, although even she’s not a complete lock. If she signs on to the program, the pop star will take on a $15-million deal (that much was reported by E! News in mid-april). But Spears has yet to accept the gig, it seems. (According to the L.A.
Times, the length of her contract seems to be a point of conflict;
The X Factor wants Spears committed to two years, whereas her reps would prefer one.) Still, with a $15-million contract, Spears’ payday would smoke her predecessors’. According to TMZ, Nicole Scherzinger made $1.5 million for her year on The
X Factor and Paula Abdul got $2.5 million. Cecile Frot-coutaz, the CEO of
The X Factor’s production company, Fremantlemedia, told
THR that finalizing the judges’ panel will take time. “These things always drag out to the very last minute,” she said, but that “last minute” could come two weeks from now. According to the Hollywood Reporter, an official casting announcement is expected by May 14, at a Fox presentation to advertisers. The
X Factor starts auditions — for contestants, not judges — at the end of the month.