Simon Cowell is going to be outnumbered on The X Factor this fall, but somehow we suspect he won’t mind.
We have confirmed our Friday near-deal exclusive report that Destiny’s Child founding member Kelly Rowland and Latin singer Paulina Rubio will be the new Factor judges for season three. They’ll join executive producer-judge Cowell and his fellow lone surviving panelist from last season, pop singer Demi Lovato.
Yes: It’s Simon and three talented attractive women. The combination is certain to prompt some smirking, but the move makes Factor the first major U.S. broadcast singing competition series to have a female majority on its panel. The ensemble also targets a diverse collection of music fans of varying ages: Lovato (age 20) is a current pop singer, Rowland (32) leans toward R&B, and Rubio (41) sings Latin dance music. And of course Cowell (53) lends his experience as a music producer, reality TV icon and talent spotter.
Another plus: The new hires have prior experience judging a major music competition series (unlike, say, ex-X Factor judge Britney Spears, or American Idol‘s Nicki Minaj or Mariah Carey). Rowland was a judge on the UK version of X Factor, while Rubio judged the Mexican version of The Voice.
So what the new Factor panel arguably lacks in headline-generating celebrities, it could gain in having judges with experience doing live performance critiques. After all, we’ve seen that enormous star wattage on talent shows does not necessarily equal a ratings boost.
The deals are being signed Monday afternoon in a nick of time as X Factor starts production on season three tomorrow (Rowland has signed; Rubio will sign within the hour). Now Fox will turn its attention to filling out the judges panel of American Idol. In recent weeks, panelists Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj have said they won’t be back, Keith Urban says he’d like to return, and Mariah Carey has ducked the press. NBC’s rival The Voice firmed up its judges panel for the next two cycles last week.
Though Cowell may be excited about the new Factor panel, he took a moment this weekend to reminiscence about his former American Idol co-stars. “Randy leaving Idol made me remember that Paula, Randy, me and Ryan had the best time,” Cowell tweeted. “I miss them.”
@ the random person making the panel
no one knows paulina
