No sooner are the auditions underway on the new season of "American Idol" on FOX, there's news today surrounding the other talent competition that made its U.S. debut this fall.

That show is "The X Factor", which wasn't nearly the hit in this country in its first season after being a hit in other countries around the world. After about 12.5 million viewers tuned in for the September debut, Simon Cowell's creation simply wasn't the hit he was hoping for and ratings dipped. When production of the show's first season wrapped in December, ratings for "X's" first season were about half of Cowell's former show.

There had been rumors before the show's season finale that judge Nicole Scherzinger & host Steve Jones would not be renewed for the American version's second season. According to MSN.com, that is indeed the case. Scherzinger, Jones & Paula Abdul, whom Cowell worked with on "Idol", were all fired Monday. FOX & the show's U.S. distributor Fremantle Media are now searching for a new host & new judges for the show's second season next year.

So why were Nicole, Paula & Steve sent packing? For starters, Nicole was indecisive and couldn't decide among contenders who to keep and who to send packing. Paula seemed to be too nice and didn't have the tension she & Simon had on "Idol". Last but not least, a British paper reported before "X's" finale in December that producers had been planning to reconfigure the show without Steve. At the time, Steve dismissed the report via his publicist, but reviews weren't exactly favorable either. FOX bosses hope to have a new host & replacement judges in place by April.

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