Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid on THE X FACTOR’s Shakeups and Rumors

For many fans of THE X FACTOR’s first season, the January 30th exit of judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, and host Steve Jones was not only shocking, but a disappointing turn of events. The only good news? All sides seem to be respectful about the split.

“I spoke to [Paula] on the night it was announced and I spoke to Steve,” Simon Cowell told reporters on a conference call earlier today. “I was going to speak to Nicole, but we were in different time zones, so we couldn’t actually speak ourselves. All of them, they’ve been incredibly gracious and respectful. They’re friends and there were certain reasons the changes were made. Shows always have to change and evolve over the years, and at this particular time, it was decided to do it sooner rather than later. But it wasn’t anything about them. I think there are huge opportunities for us working with all of them [in the future]. And I’m not just saying that, I think it actually will happen.”

But where does the show go from here? Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Fergie, Janet Jackson, and Pink are among the names that have been tossed around as potential judges, but Cowell said there is no news to announce…yet.

“You know what happens and it happened last year: there’s a load of speculation,” he said. “Some true, some not true. It’s true to say…a lot more people have entered the fray this year and we really waited to see who was going to contact us before we contacted people. And we’re in that place right now, which is a good place to be in. We will meet a number of people over the next few weeks, mainly to explain to them this is a big commitment when you do a show like this, mainly because of the mentoring aspect. But I can’t confirm or deny these rumors at the moment.”

“One thing you can likely count on is we’ll have two girls,” L.A. Reid added.

“I think that’s 100 percent [the case],” Cowell agreed.

Is there anyone you hope will join THE X FACTOR season 2?

Related:

Updated Report: Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul Off of THE X FACTOR
THE X FACTOR’s Steve Jones Says He Won’t Be Back for Season 2

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