Whew! That was close. Entertainment Weekly was reporting that Paula Abdul was set to host and judge a reboot of Star Search. After we posted our objections and told her it would be smart to wait for X Factor so she could entertain us much more, EW now reports that Paula is now backing out of the deal. See, even judges read VFTW. We know what's good for you. We try to warn contestants about psycho Idol fans too. Speaking of which, Siobhan Magnus, watch your back. The Sparkle Cows are coming for you. Spray them with bacon grease.

While we were all hoping Paula Abdul was tied to Simon Cowell's American version of X-Factor, it turns out she might have had other plans. Entertainment Weekly says Paula is about to finish signing a deal to host and judge a resurrected version of Star Search on ABC. The show is being planned to start this summer.

Seriously, Paula? That's such a waste. Get out of this deal immediately. Worsters don't want to watch Star Search. It's 100 times more boring than Idol. What do you think, is this a good or bad move for Paula?

We've known it for weeks, but it's finally official. Simon Cowell says that American Idol 9 is his last season. RIP American Idol 2002-2010. We didn't even have to kill the show, the staff did it themselves. Loving it! X Factor should debut in America in 2011, hopefully with Paula Abdul back off her meds, and we'll make an easy switch while Idol goes under.

So what do you think? Is Idol toast now that Simon's leaving? Leave a comment.

Richard Rushfield wrote an article in The Daily Beast today about why Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after the current season. Speculation existed that Simon was merely leaving to helm his own show (an American version of Britain's X Factor), but Richard suggests that there was also bad blood on the Idol set. The article sugges that Simon Cowell was upset that Idol producer Simon Fuller was raking in the dough, whereas Simon Cowell was seen as merely on-air talent and wasn't getting a behind-the-scenes take (Cowell makes an estimated $50 million a year from the show, so it's safe to say Fuller must be making a ton more). Simon started to assert himself more by creating shows like American Inventor and America's Got Talent, eventually clashing more and more with the producers of Idol. Now Simon is poised to leave Idol and make a larger fortune if he can get X Factor off the ground and running, especially with Paula Abdul. If X Factor has Paula and Simon, while Idol has Kara and Randy, it's a safe bet that Idol's ratings would tank. So Simon Cowell has been plotting the end of Idol all this time? Who knew we were working on the same side as him? The article is a good read, so check it out.