AMERICA’s GOT KELLY

Idol icon Clarkson will take over AGT judging duties from injured Cowell

Kelly Clarkson has jumped in to replace Simon Cowell as a judge on America’s Got Talent.

Cowell has been forced to sit out the rest of the current season after breaking his back in a weekend bike accident and now the singer who owes her career to the music mogul is joining the show as a judge.

Clarkson will take over Cowell’s seat alongside Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara on Tuesday and Wednesday as the show returns.

“My friend, Simon Cowell, is doing better now but was in an accident and won’t be able to make Tuesday and Wednesday’s live shows for AGT, but no worries America, someone far wiser, cooler, and hotter is taking his seat! The unbelievably amazing Kelly Clarkson,” Clarkson said in a statement. “You’re welcome in advance!”

Clarkson is no stranger to U.S. talent shows — as well as winning the first season of

American Idol, she’s also a judge on The Voice. And she was named outstanding entertainment talk show host at the recent Daytime Emmy Awards.

Meanwhile, Cowell has pulled all of his commitments for the foreseeable future after undergoing a five-hour surgery on his back following a fall from an electric bicycle in the yard of his Malibu, Calif., home on Saturday.

Speaking to Britain’s The Sun newspaper, insiders close to the star revealed the 60-year-old music and TV mogul faces a long and difficult recovery that will involve intensive physiotherapy and wearing a back brace.

“It’s going to take him weeks, maybe months,” they confirmed. “Simon has a long and difficult road ahead. He has told friends and colleagues that he wants to be back at work immediately but they’ve had to remind him that this is a very serious injury and he needs to just rest and recuperate. It’s going to take him weeks, and maybe months, to get back to where he was.” However, they added, “If he ignores the doctor’s orders then it will be very bad news for him long term.

“He was up in bed talking about deals and telly, but he had to be told to relax.”

WENN Singer Kelly Clarkson, who won the very first American Idol, will take over the judging duties on America’s Got Talent from Simon Cowell, left, who suffered a serious back injury.