Britney Spears is close to finalizing a $15 million deal to serve as the new superstar judge on Simon Cowell's talent show The X Factor, according to online reports.

The "Toxic" hitmaker has been rumored to be in talks to take a seat alongside Cowell and producer Antonio "L.A." Reid on the panel for weeks and now insiders claim the big announcement is imminent.

Spears is said to be ready to sign on the dotted line after being offered a $15 million payday - after she reportedly turned down $10 million.

A source tells E! Online, "Both camps were back and forth on the money but now they have finally come to agreement on the fee.

"That was the big sticking point and now, thankfully, it's been sorted. All they need to do now is work out the smaller points. The fact the money is now set means that there is nothing stopping this from becoming a reality."

Fans had feared the pop star would be too fragile to handle the pressure of the publicity surrounding the show - but reports suggest her fiance, Jason Trawick, will be by her side as a producer.

A source adds, "Jason is expected to be there every day Britney is on set. He is her rock and will help guide her through the process. He is the person she trusts the most."

Spears will sit on the panel alongside Cowell and Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, as well as another female judge.

The two newcomers will replace Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger as judges.
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Britain's Got Talent is back on the road with the judges trawling the length and breadth of the UK in search of Britain's best talent.

Hosted by award-winning TV favourites Ant & Dec, the show sees the return of Simon Cowell, joined on the exciting new panel by actor and comedian David Walliams, singer, songwriter and dancer Alesha Dixon, and returning judge, Amanda Holden.

This year the winner will not only have the opportunity to perform at the 2012 Royal Variety Performance, they will also receive £500,000 - £250,000 of which will come from Simon Cowell's own pocket.

Judging by the pictures below, we can expect the unexpected on Britain's Got Talent, where anything goes, from dance troupes to acrobats, magicians to comedians and dancing dogs to mind-blowing contortionists. The show is open to any performer of any age, from any background, with any talent - all they need is a skill and star quality which they think will impress the Judges.

Former "The X Factor" contestant Dexter Haygood said he wasn't pushed off Fox's new singing contest. He jumped.
Haygood was among five contestants eliminated from the show last week. But the rock singer with the James Brown rasp said that what viewers saw didn't reflect the whole story, including a behind-the-scenes agreement to ensure the swift exit he wanted.
According to Haygood, 49, who was part of mentor-judge Nicole Scherzinger's group of age 30-plus contestants, he told Scherzinger two days before last Wednesday's live performance show that he was dissatisfied with "X Factor."
"I wanted to leave the show because I was unhappy that I was unable to be a rock artist. I grew up on rock," said Haygood, of Memphis, Tenn., who enjoyed the spotlight in the 1980s as frontman for the rock group Xavion, which toured at one point with Hall & Oates.
Being called on to do pop songs such as Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" was aggravating, Haygood said: "Can you imagine Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger, James Brown, doing (the `Crazy in Love' chorus) `uh oh uh oh uh'?"
Producers "seemed to have their way of doing things. I'm not sure why they wouldn't let me be me," he said Tuesday.
Scherzinger, former member of the Pussycat Dolls, took his complaint to the show's producers and came back the same day with an offer, according to Haygood: He would be bounced on Thursday's results show if he agreed to return for the season finale.