Paula Abdul & Maria Carey may be judges on X Factor

Simon Cowell announced that the judges have not been finalized for the US version of X Factor. However, there are a few candidates he is looking at. The short list includes Paula Abdul, Maria Carey, George Michael, former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and Nicki Minaj. Simon said “it’s not only my decision you know.” Apparently, FOX is also deciding who should be on that panel.

Simon added: “I have to make sure we have a lot of Americans working on the show to begin with. 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. This is an American competition for American contestants. From a pride point of view, they want to make this the best show they’ve ever done.”