Britney Spears and Demi Lovato have joined the judging panel, alongside L. A. Reid and Simon Cowell, for the new season of The X Factor USA. Nicole Scherzinger, who had replaced Cheryl Cole, and Paula Abdul will not return.
   The line-up was announced on Monday at an event for The X Factor USA’s advertisers.
   The judges were very complimentary toward each other.
   Media reports indicate that Spears may have been offered US$15 million for her role as a judge. ‘I am so excited about this whole experience. It’s going to be so much fun and so different from anything I’ve ever done a I’m ready to find the true star,’ she says.
   ‘I am totally stoked to be here because of not only the opportunity to be a judge here but the presence of you guys. It’s an honour to be standing next to you I’m excited to represent my generation and I’m ready to find the winner,’ says Lovato.
   ‘This is the Rolls-Royce of television right here,’ says Reid.
   Cowell points out that The X Factor is ‘the number-one music franchise in the world.’
   The winner of the first season was Melanie Amaro.
   Scherzinger, meanwhile, is probably not concerned about the judging panel changes. The former Pussycat Doll is in Germany for the première of Men in Black 3, her first silver screen acting role, playing villainess Lilly Poison. She joined Will Smith and Josh Brolin on the red carpet and arguably stole the attention, wearing a figure-hugging Hervé L. Leroux dress.
   German glamour model Micaela Schäfer also caught the attention of fans wearing a dress made from tape.