Britney Spears: the 'tough, mean' new voice on X Factor - Toronto Star

Britney Spears

Paul Marotta/GETTY IMAGES New X Factor judge Britney Spears at Season 2 auditions in June.

Things are about to get even more volatile on the Fox network's two vocal competitions, the veteran American Idol and the upstart X Factor.

As was announced early Monday, Mariah Carey has just signed a deal to replace the departing Jennifer Lopez on Idol, and Britney Spears has already started taping and is being featured in promos for this season's X Factor.

Both women are as well known for their very public personal meltdowns as they are for their stratospheric professional careers. Spears' X Factor co-judge, Demi Lovato, has an admitted history of drug abuse.

All three are back at the top of their games. But that inherent volatility has got to make for good television.

According to Fox president Kevin Reilly, Spears is bringing her own kind of energy to the X Factor judging panel.

“I think you're going to be surprised at how feisty she is,” he says. “She's tough. She knows what she's doing, she's been around and she's seen it all.”

Fellow judge Demi Lovato is no shrinking violet either.

“I think we've got a real spitfire in Demi,” says Reilly, “who literally on day one took on Simon. So I think there's some really good chemistry going on.”

Producer and judge Simon Cowell agrees. “They both bring different things,” he allowed, speaking by satellite from X Factor “boot camp” in Miami.

“I've always said that the one person I wanted to bring onto the show was Britney, because I was fascinated with her as a person and as a pop star.

“She's a really, really good judge. And she's quite mean, as you'll discover.”

He has similarly backhanded praise for Lovato. “Demi is a brat,” he deadpans. “But there's something really likeable about her as well. And I think the show, because it has such a young audience, needed someone a bit younger. And it's worked brilliantly.”

It has taken some of the pressure off of him to play the bad guy. “They are harder to please than me or L.A. (Reid),” Cowell insists. “They have no problem telling people ‘No.' ”

“I think we're just really honest,” Spears protests. “He secretly loves me,” giggled Lovato.

Meanwhile, the mood was just as light at Cowell's old workplace American Idol, and for good reason: they also had big news, as pop superstar Mariah Carey joins as a judge this season, apparently thanks to the show's veteran panellist Randy Jackson.

“Randy has worked with Mariah for years as her co-manager,” says Reilly. It's still unclear whether Jackson will return this season, but “he was instrumental in bringing her to the show.”

Carey calls in to the Idol session by mobile phone and couldn't contain her glee. “I am so excited to be joining Idol,” she enthuses. “I can't wait to get started.”

Cowell responds to the news at his old stomping grounds by saying, “I really like Mariah. I've known her for years. I'm happy for her, and I think she'll be great for the show. But she's too nice. I think she's going to have trouble saying ‘No.' ”

None of these new hires for the talent shows are sure things, but that may be the point. Spears and Carey have both had public meltdowns â€" Britney shaving her head as photographers gawked in 2007; Mariah doing an impromptu striptease on MTV in 2001 and developing a reputation as a very high-maintenance star; and even young Lovato, 19, has been to rehab.

Those histories add an element of the unexpected which might intrigue viewers. Spears had long been a fan of X Factor, but hadn't seriously ever considered appearing on it until she talked it over with her makeup artist, who also happens to be Cowell's.

“We talked abut it a couple of times while I was on tour,” she says, “but I never took it seriously. And then we all met up, and it just made sense.

“I adore Simon, and it's something I really wanted to do . . . Being on this show has been really good for me, helping to bring all this new talent in and helping them to achieve their dream. I can relate to them on such a level, because I started out at such a young age myself.”

The judges are not the only change. Cowell and his co-producers are auditioning men and women to be an X Factor hosting team.

“That's the plan, to have a boy and a girl,” he says, adding “we've made some changes to the show, a lot of changes editorially. There's a lot of competition we've got to fight against this year. This show's got to evolve.”

Email: rsalem@thestar.ca; Twitter: @robsalem