The X Factor Judge L.A. Reid Talks Justin Bieber Rumors, Says Simon Knows Best ♥

Simon Cowell’s new singing competition show The X Factor gets underway this fall, and right now, the only thing anyone wants to know about it is who is going to judge it. So far, only one has been announced: music executive L.A. Reid, who left his post at Island Def Jam Records to take the gig. But there have been rumors that everyone from Nicki Minaj, Paula Abdul and Jessica Simpson to Justin Bieber and British pop star Cheryl Cole is in the running for the other slots on the panel.

Reid, who actually signed Justin Bieber to his record deal, addressed the rumors that the Biebs is up for the job by saying, “That would probably be really, really fun, [but] I don’t know. I don’t have a preference.” He did, however, deny British media reports that he accidentally confirmed Cheryl Cole as a judge during an interview. He explained, “It’s a complete falsehood. I never had an interview about it. There have been many, many names mentioned…but no decisions made beyond myself and Simon at this point.”

As far as Reid is concerned, Simon Cowell is the man, and he’s just following his lead. He explained, “I lean so heavily on Simon…he really is an expert at this…he knows what he’s doing. I’m sure he’ll assemble an amazing array of people for this panel.” In fact, Reid he’s doing the show for two reasons, and one of them is that he wanted to be “next to Simon” at the judge’s table. The other reason is to, as he puts it, “discover the next generation of superstars.”

As for why the world needs yet another singing competition, Reid explains, “There’s no secret that our industry has sort of been under seige…so we need every opportunity we can to continue to…discover talent. We have to continue to impact popular culture with great talent, great artists and great entertainers, and this is certainly one way of doing it.”

Auditions for The X Factor are taking place right now. The show debuts in September.