pointless hiring judges who don't know anything about the music business. I'll probably go and find someone who did what I did for a living. I was an A&R guy for 20 years." Eventually, Grammy Award-winning record executive, songwriter, and record producer L.A. Reid, former The X Factor UK judge Cheryl Cole, and Cowell's former American Idol colleague Paula Abdul were confirmed to join Cowell in the judging panel. Cole was dropped from the show after two sets of auditions and was replaced by co-host Nicole Scherzinger from the Newark auditions. After season one, the show's producers had said that they would undergo some changes which resulted in, what media outlets called, an "X Factor Shake-up". On January 30, 2012, it was announced that neither Abdul nor Scherzinger would return as a judge for season two with Scherzinger transferring to the UK show for the 2012 UK series to replace Kelly Rowland. When searching for replacements, Cowell sought to hire pop star Britney Spears as Scherzinger's replacement. After months of negotiations, Cowell and Spears came to an agreement for season two. Following the employment of Spears, Cowell was looking for a young superstar, in order to bring in a younger audience. On May 14, it was confirmed that Demi Lovato was one of the new judges. On December 13, 2012, Reid announced that he would not be returning as a judge for a third season, instead opting to focus on Epic Records. Spears announced on January 11, 2013, that she would not be renewing her contract for another season, opting to focus on recording her eighth studio album. In March 2013, Lovato was announced to be joining Cowell on the panel again for season three. In April 2013, it was reported that former judge on The X Factor UK Kelly Rowland was the front-runner to replace Reid. In May, it was officially confirmed that Rowland and Paulina Rubio would join Cowell and Lovato for season three. Hosts Cowell initially indicated that The X Factor may have two hosts. Numerous people were speculated to host the series, including High School Musical star Corbin Bleu, model Marisa Miller, and Dermot O'Leary, host of the UK version. On May 8, 2011, Nicole Scherzinger and Welsh presenter Steve Jones were announced as co-hosts of the show. However, following the departure of judge Cheryl in season one, Scherzinger took her place and Jones became sole