Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2012
New
York -- Pop singers Britney Spears and Demi Lovato will join The X Factor as judges in season two,
Fox confirmed at its upfront presentation here Monday.
Spears and Lovato, whose addition had been rumored for weeks, will sit on the
judges' panel alongside holdovers Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. They replace
Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, who were ousted from the reality
competition show shortly after its first season ended.
The addition of the two pop singers is meant to bring more star power to a show
that was judged by critics and audiences to be too similar to Cowell's former
show, American Idol. X Factor producers have also said they
will be making format changes in season two to further distinguish it from the
crowded space that also includes NBC's The
Voice.
The duo also bring musical performance credibility to the panel. Spears has sold nearly 100 million albums worldwide and earned a total of five No. 1 debuts albums since her first single in 1998, "...Baby One More Time." Lovato, known for her role on Disney Channel's Sonny With a Chance, saw her single "Skyscraper" off her most recent album recently go platinum.
