Already an international sensation, Simon Cowell finally managed to bring 'The X Factor' (Wed., 8PM ET on FOX) stateside, and while it's expected to get massive ratings for this premiere, featuring the returns of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul together, along with L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and ever-so-briefly Cheryl Cole.

But as much as Cowell might wish it weren't so, it's about the contestants they manage to find. And while Chris Rene, who was 70 days sober and trying to turn his life around, blew everyone away with a heartfelt original performance, it was another contestant who perhaps best personified what makes 'The X Factor' different.

The excitement surrounding Simon Cowell's new reality talent show 'The X Factor' is reaching fever pitch ahead of tonight's premiere.

Over the summer there was much drama off-screen as judge Cheryl Cole was booted from the panel after auditions had got underway and was replaced by the show's original co-host, Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger.

Cowell and Scherzinger were guests on 'Piers Morgan Tonight' and he talked candidly about the reasons for Cole's departure: "I was talking to someone about this at the screening the other night and they put it very well -- she looked a bit bewildered."

Cowell -- who says he feels bad about the very public way in which Cole was fired -- added that "I took the view, along with a few other people, that she would have been more comfortable back in the UK."

He also opened up about his hopes for 'The X Factor' and whether it will take down 'American Idol.'

Helen Mirren is 66-years-old, but she beat out women decades younger, like Elle MacPherson, Pippa Middleton, and Jennifer Lopez, in an LA Fitness "Body of the Year" poll. 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM on CBS) reported on the poll Tuesday, talking to people on the sidewalk in Times Square to see who they'd choose.

LA Fitness polled 2,000 people to come up with Mirren, who appeared nude at 58 in the movie 'Calendar Girls.' "She's got a fabulous body, she really does," said one man on the street, looking at a photo of Mirren in a bikini. "But I don't know, I'd still pick J-Lo over her."

A couple of younger women in Times Square also thought it was "awesome" that a 66-year-old woman could top the poll. "I think she has a better body than I do right now," said one. MacPherson, at 48, came in second, and Cheryl Cole was the only one in the top five under thirty. Who says LA is obsessed with youth?

It's been a busy old summer so far for Gnarls Barkley frontman Cee Lo Green. In addition to his duties on NBC's 'The Voice' he's performed live at a whole raft of gigs and festivals in the U.S. and Europe.

Last week we reported that Green and his fellow coaches will all be returning to 'The Voice' for Season 2. Now comes news that he may be adding even more work to his already punishing schedule.

According to 'The Daily Star' Green could be pulling double-duty in 2012 as he's been asked to reprise his role as voal coach and mentor on the U.K. version.

Now that Simon Cowell's future has been determined and this is his last season with American Idol, his head is really into the next phase of his life, Fox's The X Factor. With that in mind, it doesn't come as a surprise that Simon would like Paula Abdul as a judge on The X Factor. We've actually written about it before and it seems more than likely to come to pass now.

It makes perfect sense, too. Simon would be drawing viewers from American Idol to The X Factor from the start. There would be both a curiosity factor, seeing Simon and Paula shoulder to shoulder together again, and there would also be a familiarity factor. It would look and feel like Idol, making fans settle in to the newer show no what matter the differences in the competition.

The ninth season of 'American Idol' is set to premiere on Jan. 12, but lately the show's buzz has had nothing to do with the singing competition -- not when there's so much movement behind the judges' table.

Speculation has reached fever pitch regarding music mogul Simon Cowell's rumored departure from 'Idol' following the expiration of his contract in 2011, but a recent comment from Cowell's brother has added fuel to the fire that everyone's favorite grumpy judge might abandon the show at the end of this season, "to concentrate on bringing the American version of 'X-Factor' to U.S. TV in 2011," Tony Cowell reportedly revealed on his weekly podcast.

But what is this 'X-Factor,' you may ask, and would crotchety Cowell really consider leaving the show that made him a household name on this side of the Atlantic?

If you've ever wanted to smell exactly like America's most hated man (please get some kind of psychiatric help immediately), now's your chance.

Simon Cowell, the American Idol and X-Factor judge, will have his own brand of cologne along with the rest of the X-Factor judges, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole.

A specific release date hasn't been picked, although it's said they will hit the stores by Christmas. It also looks as though they will only be released in the United Kingdom. And America wept.

Simon Cowell's The X-Factor has been a huge in the UK for several years now; that's where we got Leona Lewis. Due to his contract with American Idol, he hasn't been able to bring it to the US. FOX feared the increased competition from a similar singing competition might hurt their juggernaut.

Now that Cowell is in the final year of his current contract, open negotiations to keep him on Idol are including talks of bringing The X-Factor to FOX. If So You Think You Can Dance continues to underperform in the fall, The X-Factor might be a logical replacement, pushing SYTYCD back to the summer.

The ongoing saga of the fate of one Ms. Paula Abdul continues. She is still without a contract for the new season of American Idol. Word has it it's a money thing -- who knew?!

Now someone has been talking around about her because executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has said that he would absolutely consider Abdul for a judging role on So You Think You Can Dance. As a successful choreographer and a known commodity, that would probably help the profile of that show tremendously as it moves to a fall season for the first time.

Another report has American Idol, and Simon Cowell himself approaching British pop star Cheryl Cole to consider replacing Abdul on the Idol dais. The rumor is that she turned down the position due to family commitments in England, but it does make one wonder. If this is all just tough negotiating for a new contract, everybody's playing hardball.