Britney Spears flew in to New York City to confirm she will be a judge on the upcoming season of X Factor on Monday.
The announcement is expected to broadcast on Fox at the Upfronts, NYC. Though reports had speculated the $15-million deal had been signed last week, her status was still up in the air as of two days ago, according to TMZ.
After her conservators (those legally responsible for her), fiancée Jason Trawick and father Jamie Spears added their signatures to the contract, it became official. Brittney, who is no stranger to judgment herself, will be joined by fellow newbie-judge and former Disney sensation Demi Lovato for the announcement.
Call it another example of Hollywood at its finest—out with the old and in with the hot and young—as Spears and Lovato fill in for seasoned stars Paula Abdul, and Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. Series creator and judge Simon Cowell is known for his taste for the young, sexy, edgy and flashy.
After disappointing-to-him ratings during season one, he fired the former leading ladies only to replace them with less experienced but more youthful—and in recent times, more troubled—stars. Whether it is really about raising ratings, or surrounding himself with a larger harem of desirable and pliable female talents is anyone’s guess.
According to TVbytheNumbers, X Factor was rated No. 1 across several categories including best new unscripted series, and best unscripted program of the fall. Averaging over 12.4 million viewers worldwide, the show was said to have “given FOX a nightly win on the majority of the nights it has aired.”
The impact of Spears and Lovato remains to be seen. If last season’s constant media frenzy serves as a test run, be sure the swarm of controversy surrounding the show will last for weeks beyond the new additions’ September premier.
