L.A. Reid Lets It Slip That Cheryl Cole Will Be A Judge On ‘The X Factor’

Sorry, Simon, newly appointed The X Factor judge L.A. Reid has let the cat out of the bag a little early — Reid has revealed that British pop singer Cheryl Cole will indeed be joining the judges’ panel on the U.S. edition of the show. UPDATE: Reid is now claiming, “I don’t know where [the quote] actually came from… I’m sure that [Simon] will make the right decision.” Backtracking, or did the Brit tabloid who published his quote just make it up?

The news has yet to be confirmed, but Reid is quoted as saying in the U.K.’s Mirror: “We’re gonna compete against American Idol just fine. I’m very confident. But along with Simon Cowell and Cheryl [Cole], I don’t know who the other judge is.”

Cheryl has been a judge on the British version of the reality competition since 2008, so the only new thing she’ll have to get used to is the wonderful array of American accents on display.

For those of you who don’t know who Cheryl Cole is — well, you’re not alone! Many people auditioning for The X Factor in Los Angeles admitted they have no idea who the Brit singer is. If they get through to the next round, we expect that to change!

One slot left, everybody! Who do you want to see take the last open seat as judge?

[PopEater]