The rumors turned out to be true. Britney Spears and Demi Lovato will be taking on judging/mentoring roles on the second season on Fox’s The X Factor. Spears and Lovato will replace Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, season 1 judges who were not invited back for season 2. Simon Cowell, of course, and L.A. Reid will be filling the other judges’ chairs.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Britney’s deal is worth $15 million ($5 million more than The Voice‘s Christina Aguilera). THR quotes an anonymous source as saying Lovato’s deal is only worth $1 million.
With the recently announced return of The Voice for season three this fall (rather than waiting until midseason), The X Factor and its judging panel will be pitted against The Voice‘s Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. Both singing competitions use their celebrities as not merely judges but as mentors, and it’ll be interesting to see how Spears and Lovato (who’s only 19) will handle that aspect of the job.
