Photo: WENN
So, after months of to-ing and fro-ing it has been confirmed that Britney Spears will be appearing on the judging panel for the new series of The X Factor USA.
Simon Cowell, one of the canniest men in showbiz, has clearly identified that the first series of X Factor USA didn't quite take off in the way he wanted and is using Spears A-list status to plaster over the cracks in his Atlantic version of the hit UK reality show.
You can see where he is coming from. Britney Spears remains a household name, the byword for pop superstardom and chart domination. However, it was a long time since Britney Spears was *Britney Spears* in that sense and you can't help feeling that Cowell has thrown a reported $10m at the 1998 version of Spears, fresh-faced, eager and engaged. Unfortunately, as anyone who has followed Spears career in recent years will tell you, that version of Britney no longer exists and the shows producers would have been advised to sit through the string of dead eyed interviews she gave while promoting the 2011 album 'Femme Fatale' and made to realise that they have not exactly spent millions on guaranteed TV dynamite.
Realistically, this is the last thing Spears needs. You can kind of coast your way through being a mega-popstar with some degree of anonimity if you choose but The X Factor does not allow for that. The constant media circus, gossip, rumour and drama surrounding the show is far from an ideal atmosphere for someone who is legally not responsible for large parts of her own career, finances and life like Spears is following her infamous breakdown in 2008. The programme will push her to her limits and you can't help worrying what the outcome will be.
Perhaps we are wrong and Spears will prove to be a big hit when X Factor USA, along with fellow new judge Demi Lovato, returns later in the year. We just can't help feeling this could all prove to be an expensive nightmare for all parties.
