Mariah Carey To Mentor Contestants On ‘The X Factor’?

Another week, another X Factor rumor to ponder. This time it’s news that whistle-register pop mom Mariah Carey is considering a season-long mentor position on the show once it hits American airwaves on September 21. A source connected with the upcoming Fox series told Entertainment Weekly that “Mariah and Simon [Cowell] are great friends, and now [that] she has had her babies, it’s very possible that she will be involved [in] some way in the later stages of the show. She has always said she wanted to work with the show, so it’s something they will certainly be discussing ideas for soon.”

For those keeping track of who’s in and who’s out on this show — and, trust, we know it’s hard to stay up to date — we currently have Simon, Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger as judges, with UK personality Steve Jones set to host (for now).

If Mimi does indeed come on board, this will be the first time we’ve seen her and Paula working side by side. Of course, both divas came up in the pop music ranks around roughly the same time period.

In 1991, particularly, the songbirds ruled the pop airwaves; Abdul had two chart-topping singles on the Billboard Hot 100 that year (“Rush, Rush” and “Promise Of A New Day”), while Carey landed three #1s (“Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and “Emotions”).

At any rate, if this year’s crop of reality singing competitions are any testament, taking part in The X Factor can only help Mariah’s chances with her upcoming album. (See Christina Aguilera/Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” and Jennifer Lopez’s “On The Floor” — songs by slumping-artists-turned-judges that helped revive the respective singers’ careers.)

As for Paula, well, we’re just hoping for a whole new batch of crazy.