This just in from THR. Island Def Jam chairman, L.A. Reid will take a seat on the X Factor US judges’ panel.
Sources tells THR “it’s a done deal.” Reid, whose contract with Universal Music is up in December, will get an early release so that he can take part in Simon Cowell’s show, which awards a Sony Music recording contract worth $5 million to the winner. Auditions for X Factor begin on March 27 in Los Angeles. An announcement is to be made this week, according to an insider.
Reid, who will be one of 4 judges (including Simon Cowell), is expected to join Sony Music as it undergoes a major management restructuring when current UMG chairman Doug Morris steps in as CEO of Sony Music on July 1.
Reid has had a hand in the careers of artists such as Pink, Avril Lavigne, Mariah Carey, Usher and Justin Bieber.
According to Deadline, Enrique Iglesias has been approached to host.
Simon Cowell tells MTV that potential X Factor judges must understand the American market at the very least.”
“I have to make sure we have a lot of Americans working on the show to begin with, ” he said. “I’ve got to have people on the panel with me who can judge American talent because I’m 51 years old, I’m British and we’ve got people as young as 14 entering this competition. So I’ve got to make sure I’ve got people sitting alongside me who genuinely know what they’re talking about so that we don’t lose somebody in the audition process.”
