Spears, Lovato round out new X Factor judging panel
05/14/12 04:36 PM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
Confirming all those prevalent rumors, Fox trotted out Britney Spears and Demi Lovato Monday as the two new judges on The X Factor.
They appeared together for the first time as Fox employees during the network's "upfront" presentation to advertisers. Fox had declined to spill the Spears/Lovato beans during its announcements of new and returning fall programming earlier Monday.
Lovato, who was raised in Dallas and whose mother is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, is still only 19 years old. But the show's executive producer and fellow judge Simon Cowell pronounced her as "young, confident and enthusiastic. I think it's really important that she speaks to our younger audience."
Lovato and Spears are both veterans of drug rehab, although Spears, 30, has had a far more documented series of ups and downs. They're replacing first-year judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, both of whom were dumped.
L.A. Reid, the singing competition's other judge, dubbed X Factor "the Rolls Royce of television" in remarks to advertisers. And Cowell remained cocky, saying that X Factor would turn back a challenge from NBC's The Voice, which will move to the fall next season to vie for viewers on Monday and Tuesday nights.
"This year we are going to seriously kick butt," said Cowell, whose X Factor again will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
X Factor is still looking for a new host to replace the fired Steve Jones. In earlier comments to TV writers, Cowell said he will name male and female co-hosts for the upcoming season.