Paula Abdul X-Factor

By: Jennifer Hong
01/12/2010 02:36 PM ET

Simon Cowell did say that he missed working with Paula, and as soon as I saw that interview, I immediately thought “Could he be signing Abdul for the X-Factor?” However, as much as that rumor started buzzing the Web, I didn’t believe that he would do it. As a matter of fact, she’s been missed on American Idol ever since her departure.

Abdul has been signed on by Cowell as a judge for the American version of his hit British talent show The X Factor, which premieres next year. The show is different than American Idol, but it just seems as if the British are always ahead of us when it comes to music. They gave us the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy and Black Sabbath, and the number of pop-culture singers that seem to go on forever.

Paula Abdul Contract For X-Factor

Abdul, of course, has been languishing on the unemployment rolls since August, when she bailed on her American Idol gig because they wouldn’t pony up $20 million to retain her services. Abdul won’t be pulling in $20 million for her new stint, but her contract is reportedly worth $4.5 million. It is a hefty sum amount of money to make during an economic recession.

X-Factor means Paula Abdul snapping at Simon Cowell. They make great headlines together and that is one of the reasons that made the American Idol so popular. You can’t have one and not the other. In fact, Cowell was offered $145 million to stay on American Idol, but he turned it down.

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