Abdul
Scherzinger
Jones
Steve Jones, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul are officially out at "The X Factor."
Monday night Fox confirmed that both Jones, who served as host, and Scherzinger, who was one of four judges, won't be back but wouldn't offer any statement or comment. On Tuesday morning, Abdul offered a statement: 'Yes, it's true, I won't be returning to 'The X Factor' next season. I've learned through my longevity in this industry that business decisions often times override personal considerations."
While "X Factor" producers had signaled after the series' recently concluded first season that every element of the series was going to be re-evaluated, the speed of the departures came as some surprise.
"X Factor" was under huge expectations last season and, despite relative success, never lived up to what some -- most noticeably Simon Cowell -- thought the show would achieve
In its first season, "The X Factor," which aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays and ended on Dec. 22, averaged a 4.3 rating in the 18-49 demo and 12.6 million viewers per week.
While former "American Idol" judge Cowell was a well-known personality to "X Factor" viewers, most American viewers had no idea of who Jones was before the singing-competition series launched in the fall.
While Scherzinger is a better known quantity as a singer in the U.S., she was the target of criticism for questionable judgments over the course of the season.
Turmoil is nothing new to the "Factor" cast. Scherzinger was initially slated to co-host along with Jones, but was moved to the judges' table weeks before the series premiere after Cheryl Cole was bounced from the series.
Jones used his Twitter account to announce the news Monday afternoon: "I won't be hosting next season's 'X Factor,' which is a shame but I can't complain as I've had a great time. Good luck to everyone on the show.
Fox is hoping that by bringing in a new host and judges, there will be renewed viewer interest in a second season. That, however, remains to be seen.
No new audition or production schedule has been set for season two.
Contact Stuart Levine at
stuart.levine@variety.com