I’m thinking this was a joke from Simon Cowell considering he had just said they’d have to do the show from a maternity ward to get Mariah Carey on X Factor USA.

Listen to the radio interview below between Simon Cowell and Miss Jackie Brown. Jump to 0m 55s to hear Cowell tell Brown that there will likely be some sort of involvement from Carey for the live portions of the X Factor show.

Sounds promising right? But then he follows that up with saying she wants to be a judge of the judges. Taken apart it sounds like Carey will be part of the show. Taken as a whole it sounds like Simon could just be joking around. What do you think?

Via Rickey.org

Well it’s officially official, officially. Simon Cowell will not return to ITV’s X Factor UK in the same capacity as prior years so he can come on over here to America to focus on X Factor USA. MTV UK confirmed the news:

ITV Director of Television Peter Fincham confirmed that Cowell would have a reduced role so he could concentrate on The X Factor USA.

“We have been in constant negotiations with Simon about ways in which we can move things forward and help The X Factor evolve. We have been aware that his on-screen involvement in this series will not be as great as previous years for months now,” he admitted.

It’s been the rumor for awhile, but at least we know for sure. This should be a big boost for the US version as we know we’ll have Simon’s full attention.

Also of note from the MTV article is that Cheryl Cole could get replaced by Mel B. on the UK version. Initially that sounds like she’d need replacing because she’s coming over here, but instead she is going back to “Blighty.” I had no idea what that meant, but Google says it’s slang for Britain. If Cheryl is planning to spend more time in Britain then that certainly wouldn’t put her out in Los Angeles to be a judge. Hmm…

Source: MTV UK

Just like your favorite old shows, X Factor auditions will be filmed in front of a live audience. Best of all, you’ve got a chance to be in that audience for free. Now these are not tickets to audition or get in front of Simon and the judges in anyway, just tickets to watch others audition. If that still sounds cool to you then sign on up.

On Camera Audiences, who also handles a lot of American Idol tickets, has a page all set up for picking out your closest city and then putting your name down on the waitlist:

OCA – X Factor Audition Audience Tickets

If you end up at end of the auditions then be sure to send us lots of pics and we’ll post them here on the site!

Meanwhile, join us on Facebook and help get that page started!

Another day, another X Factor rumor. It’d be nice if Simon would go ahead and just make a decision about anything instead of dragging us around like this!

The latest X Factor USA story places Marisa Miller in the hosting seat over long running expectations that Pussycat Doll’s Nicole Scherzinger would fill that role. Another possibility is that Marisa could end up as co-host with Scherzinger, but considering Simon recently told reporters that he wants a co-ed hosting couple that would make this more of an either-or situation.

I never followed the Pussycat Dolls, so Nicole would be new to me, but who doesn’t recognize Miller from her work in Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition or probably more popular, her work for Victoria’s Secret. Sorry, Nicole, but I’d be voting for Miller to take the role.

Meanwhile, we’ve still got rumors coming in from the UK that Cheryl Cole is still uncertain for her judging position. With Simon about the drop X Factor UK it’d make sense that the show doesn’t want to lose two of its judges at the same time.

Simon Cowell promised US X Factor fans a confirmation on all the judges and hosts by the end of February. Last February, of course. That obviously didn’t happen so it’s anyone’s guess as to when we’ll actually get the final word, but when it happens we’ll have it here for you.

It’s been long questioned just how Simon Cowell would be able to balance both his existing X Factor show in the UK and a new version, X Factor USA, when the seasons overlapped later in 2011. That conflict may have just been answered, according to Entertainment Weekly:

Simon Cowell is planning to leave the U.K. version of The X Factor to focus on the launch of the American version of the show, but his spokesperson cautions that no decision has been made yet. The Daily Mail quoted an insider at ITV, which airs the show in Britain, as saying that balancing both shows “is just not feasible.”

Cowell’s camp intimated that a final decision is not expected soon.

While I’m not surprised by this outcome, I’m sure it must be a difficult choice for Cowell to make. But if the USA version takes off like it did when he came over for American Idol, then it’s the right choice.