Picture from Huffington Post

Simon Cowell has gone to his favourite place in Barbados again, and each year the paps get a shot of him on a jet ski, if there wasn’t the hair on his chest I would swear it was the same photo as last year.

He has had a great year with his The X Factor launching in the US, and after a shaky start it ended up rating very well indeed and was picked up for another season. The Mirror reports he made 28 million pounds this year.

So he deserves a little R & R as does his ex-girlfriend Sinitta who we recently saw on our screens on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. The Daily Mail has reported that she has flown into join him in his luxury villa. It is unclear whether Simon Cowell’s fiancee is Megzhan Hussainy has joined them as well. However they all spent Christmas together last year.

There have been rumours that the engaged couple had split as they were last spotted together in September 2011.

The US version X Factor certainly has more melodrama then the Australian version from both the contestants and the judges.

In fact Nicole Scherzinger makes Paula Abdul look positively normal. It is a long clip, so skip to the two minute mark and watch the craziness begin.

If I was Simon Cowell I would look at replacing her with Mel B next year, however that would probably mean the Australian version will have lost an entertaining judge.

Thanks @matt_gilbertson for tweeting the clip.

Sinitta has a pretty impressive resume of ex- boyfriends, when she admitted on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here she had gone out with Brad Pitt for two years. She dated him before he shot to stardom in Thelma and Louise.

Another ex of hers is Simon Cowell, on the show the other contestants asked her who was better in bed. She was circumspect. (Source: Marie Claire UK)

Maybe this dreadful ’80′s song Toy Boy was about him.

Why don’t we get contestants like Siameze Floyd on the Australian version of The X Factor? This is gold.

The much hyped The X Factor premiered for the first time in the US on Wednesday night. It got over 12 million viewers however it is thought to be disappointing and was only the fourth most watched show on the night.

I noted sacked judge Cheryl Cole was in this episode.

The person who wins the title will win $5 million.

The big new reality singing show hitting the US is called The Voice getting over 12 million viewers per show.

The Voice produced by Endermol (who did Big Brother)  has been the most watched show in Holland ever. It has similarities of the The X Factor and Idol where there are four judges and they mentor the talent.

However the big difference the judges are blindfolded at the audition stage. Now this would make it very interesting indeed. I think they would need to blindfold the producers as well to ensure it is all about the talent.

With the high ratings it is obtaining in the US there is also concerns that it may reduce the ratings of the first season of Simon Cowell’s The X Factor in the States.

Australia TV channels are chasing it, however there is mixed messages on which TV network has managed to lock it in.

Michael Idato in the Sun-Herald is claiming Channel Nine have successfully bid for the format to be produced by Shine Australia.

However, Richard Clunes in the Sunday Telegraph is saying rumours are strong that Ten may be looking at as well.

So who is right? Anyway the good news is we will be getting the show, and it will be interesting to see who the judges and host are.

The judges in the US are Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, and Adam Levine.

Also related to the US version of The X Factor, Paula Abdul will be in the judge seat for the show, as of course is Simon Cowell. The other two judges are Cheryl Cole, and LA Reid, who looks like Randy Jackson. It will be interesting to see how it rates, and if Foxtel will fast track it to Australia, as it does with American Idol.

It would appear Simon Cowell’s career path has been similar to my own.  A young Simon Cowell was on Sale of the Century in the nineties, before his life became consumed with reality TV. However he has appeared to have done better in both scenarios….

Anyway here is the link to Simon on the show (embedding has been disabled). Does anyone else think he looks like Hugh Grant?

Thanks to @injerarufus for pinging the link to me.

Singers who auditioned for American Idol this year are now kicking themselves with the announcement that The X Factor will have a $5 million record contract as first prize.

BBC UK say Cowell said in a press conference:

Talking at a news conference Simon Cowell said: “The top contestant will get $1 million (£619,000) a year for five years, separate from the costs involved in recording and promotion.

“It’s a massive, massive risk but it’s also an incredible incentive. It puts everybody, rightly, under an enormous amount of pressure.

“I believe I can find a star.”

But he admitted: “If they don’t sell a single record they still get to keep the money. It is pressure, because if the wrong person wins, I’m in trouble.

“We’ve got to find somebody fantastic to get the money back [through record sales].”

It is an amazing first prize and one that is aimed to try and make it the highest rating show in the US this year. The cult of Simon Cowell will ensure audiences tune in.

The other different thing about the American version of the show is that people as young as twelve will be able to audition. To be eligible to apply you have to be a US citizen or have rights to work full time there.

Auditions for US contestants begin on 27 March in Los Angeles. Other sessions follow in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Seattle and New York.

The rest of the judges, are yet to be announced, but Cheryl Cole is a favourite to be one of them.

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi is on the cover of US Vogue this month – looking fabulous as usual. (Source: Celebrity Spicy News)

The Hoff is in town and was on Bondi Beach handing out icy-poles. No one is yet to ask how he feels about having his reality show canned after two episodes. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Jennifer Hawkins has some good news this week, after being flicked by Myers last week, she is now engaged to long time love Jake Wall. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Jeff Probst talks about how Redemption Island will work on the next series of Survivor. Basically it will give one person a chance to get back into the game. It was tried once before and was not popular. But Jeff says this time it is open and all the contestants know that it is there. (Source: People Mag)

Paula Abdul who will be on Live To Dance with Andrew Gunsberg, has said she has a brain and has never been drunk. Whatever. (Source: The Huffington Post)

Since it is a slow news day here is a link to a video of Snooki being dropped in a ball on New Years Eve. (Source: The Huffington Post)

Someone finally identified the boss whilst filming on Undercover Boss was happening. This occurred on the US version of the show not the Australia one. (Source: TV Tonight)

Reality TV has proven it is not completely useless with a boy lost on a mountain saying he used skill learnt by watching reality TV programs to help him survive. Unfortunately watching over 6 months of Masterchef has not helped my cooking skills. (Source: ABC News)

Shania Twain has her own reality show. I quite liked her as a guest judge on American Idol, however I am not sure I could sit through her program. But in bizarre Shania news, she has now married the husband of the women her own husband ran off with. Confused? Yes so am I. (Source: Examiner.com)

Leif Garrett will be in Season 4 of Celebrity Rehab, this I am not surprised at. Leif was arrested with heroin early in 2010. However there is an article questioning the ethics of rehab reality TV programs and whether it is exploitative. I think they raise some interesting points, but I have to confess I really like Celebrity Rehab, not because it is trashy, but it does show how hideous an addiction can be. (Source: Dragon Paradox)

There is is all this talk about how The X Factor is tanking and the format is tired, but with the show just hanging in there in the ratings should Simon Cowell fly in to give it the boost that it needs.

Any visit or guest appearance of the charismatic Cowell on the Australian version of his show would guarantee viewers tuning in, and generate interest in the performers and judges.

His appearance needs to occur before the negative media talk sucks the life out of it,  turns the viewers off from checking it out. Also he would guarantee to a flurry of excitement from media and viewers.

If this is cannot happen ASAP, then Kyle Sandilands and Tamara Jaber need to show their gratitude to Channel Seven for reviving their TV careers and have a stoush on the show tomorrow night. Now THAT would guarantee people would tune in.

However according the Sunday Telegraph, Tamara says things will be fine between the two of them. So don’t expect her to scream into the microphone that she has not received her monthly alimony payment and that he has a small appendage. Now that would be great TV.

Simon Cowell is having a break from his workaholic ways and was on holiday’s with his fiancee Mezhegan Hussainy. I wonder what he thinks of J-Lo and Steve Tyler now being on the judging panel for American Idol.