George Michael Joining "The X Factor"

Simon Cowell has put his Faith in George Michael, by making him a judge on the forthcoming American version of X Factor.

The former Wham! star, 47, will join the talent show mogul and Cheryl Cole, 27, on the debut series next year.

It will allow the troubled singer to re-launch his career after his jail stint earlier this year for drug-driving.

A source said: "George is going to take the job. It's an amazing opportunity to get back in the limelight and reverse his recent bad spell. Simon knows that Americans love him. He is as big in the US as he is over here.

"He is a true star and has the wit and experience for the job. It's the perfect platform to resurrect his career."

Simon, 51, is believed to have offered him a hefty deal when he visited George at his home in November to discuss the role.

The Freedom star, who sang with winner Joe McElderry on last year's final show of the UK version, is a huge fan of reality TV as well as Coronation Street. George will have to apply for a US work permit - and due to his recent brush with the law it could take longer to obtain.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, 67, and Noel Gallagher, 43, have also received calls about a judging role.

The ex-Oasis star is mulling over the offer after his management met show chiefs. Noel has twice refused to allow an X Factor Oasis night because the band were still on the road.

A source said: "Simon is determined to have a panel of amazing judges.

"The show has to go off with a bang especially as Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will be on American Idol."

Simon Cowell is Bored by American Idol

Never one to be shy about what’s on his mind, Simon Cowell is blunt about why he’s leaving American Idol : He was bored.

In an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show this past Thursday, the sharp-tongued judge said he just couldn’t “hide it anymore.”

“After awhile, you start to go on automatic pilot,” Cowell, 50, told Winfrey. “And there were too many times, Oprah, where I was sitting there bored, and I thought, ‘[At] the end of the day, the audience doesn’t tune in to watch me being bored. They deserve more than that. But I can’t hide it when I’m bored. I just can’t fake it.’ “

Cowell also said the pressure of the show has taken a toll on him. “Maybe it’s the draining effect when you have a lot of people who depend on you … And you just become aware that a lot of people depend on you, rely on you, or you’re not giving people the time you should be giving them,” he said. “It’s almost like a guilt thing. And that does drain me.”

As for Cowell’s next act, he’ll be working on X Factor, another competitive singing reality show. While it won’t be too far a cry from Idol, there will be some differences.

“It’s different because there’s no upper age limit … Singing groups can enter the show,” he said. “I have no idea whether it’s going to work or not, but I’ll put its success and failure on whether we can find a star.”

Despite his boredom with Idol, Cowell told Winfrey he hasn’t lost the desire to be part of the reality show action. “I actually like doing it, funny enough,” he said. “I like the buzz it creates. You want to be part of something people are talking about. I love that feeling."

Tony Cowell: This is Simon’s Last Season of ‘Idol’

A shirtless Simon Cowell relaxes on a holiday trip to the Caribbean with his friends and family on Monday, December 21st. The 50-year-old American Idol and X Factor judge took a ride on a jetski and looked like he was having a blast!

Simon’s brother, Tony, recently ignited rumors of Simon’s departure from Idol, saying on his weekly podcast (via EW), “Meanwhile, Simon prepares for a new season of Idol - or should I say, his last season of Idol.”

“As I sit here with my family in the sunny Caribbean, a press statement is being prepared, which will confirm what everyone expected: Simon will leave Idol at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of X Factor to U.S. TV in 2011.”

"X Factor" Key in Simon Cowell's Deal with Fox

"The X Factor," a music talent show on British television, may be coming to the U.S. via Fox and a deal with the show's creator, "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell.

Cowell, in the final year of his contract on "Idol," had been open about his desire to bring his mega-hit British format to the U.S., something he couldn't do under his existing "Idol" pact.

Now Fox and Cowell are said to be hammering out a deal to launch an American version of "X Factor" -- while locking in Cowell as an "Idol" judge for two more years, through the 2011-12 season.

The deal has not been finalized, and major points are being negotiated, but it is rumored that Cowell could earn about $50 million a season for "Idol" and that a successful "X Factor" might bring him an additional $50 million a cycle.

It has not been determined whether Cowell, who would executive produce "X Factor" for Fox, also would appear as a judge. Other rumored celebrity candidates for the judges' panel are former "Idol" co-star Paula Abdul and two judges on the British "X Factor," pop star Cheryl Cole and talent manager Louis Walsh.

All parties involved in the negotiations declined comment Wednesday.

Meet the Singer Who Wowed Simon Cowell

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Susan Boyle, move over. Four months after the Scottish singing sensation caused TV judge Simon Cowell to drop his jaw, a 27-year-old schoolteacher from Reading, England, made viewers think they were seeing a replay.

Amateur singer Danyl Johnson stopped the show – in this case, The X Factor, the British version of American Idol – with his Joe Cocker-ish rendition of the Beatles' "A Little Help From My Friends." Johnson's performance prompted Cowell to say: "I have been doing this for eight or nine years. Danyl, that was single-handedly the best first audition I have ever heard."

"It's been pretty mental," Johnson, speaking on the Today show, said of the reaction to his powerful stage presence and voice. So far, his YouTube clip has attracted a million viewers, noted an impressed Today host Matt Lauer.

Since his breakthrough last weekend, Johnson, who was encouraged to try out for the TV talent contest by his school kids (otherwise, he says, "I probably wouldn't have done it"), has "just done the normal things with my friends … and family."

And next? "I guess my dream is to get an album out there and write songs and really enjoy it."