simon cowell

• There's talk that Brad Pitt is shooting a commercial for Chanel N°5 in London — E! Online
• Snooki gets a make-under — V magazine
• Simon Cowell's Botox alternative has been revealed by his makeup artist — Daily Mail
• Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Zach Galifianakis talk guys grooming in Mansome — Fashion Etc
• See Deborah Lippmann's new 3D Holographic nail lacquer — Into the Gloss
• The strangest new pedicure trend — Jezebel
• Butter London is getting into the Olympic spirit with gold, silver and bronze polishes — Racked
• See which products made the cut in InStyle's 101 Best Beauty Buys — InStyle

The US version of The X Factor hasn't even aired yet, but one of the judges is already being switched out. Nicole Scherzinger will replace previously announced judge Cheryl Cole, who has dropped out for unknown reasons (there's talk that producers were worried her distinct Geordie accent would be hard for American audiences to understand). Former Pussycat Doll Scherzinger was almost the show's co-host, but she will now judge the singing competition series alongside Paula Abdul, LA Reid, and the show's creator Simon Cowell.

It’s nothing but the best for the reigning queen of talk show TV! A who’s who of Hollywood’s A-list and the biggest names in music joined forces to give Oprah Winfrey one of the most star-studded send-offs in television. As you know, Oprah is wrapping up 25 years of her successful talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, to focus her energy on her network, OWN. She just taped her third and second-last episodes at the United Center in Chicago, which are set to air next week (Channel Ten will screen them around the same time), and as the title Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular suggests, all the guest appearances and performances were kept hidden from Oprah until she saw them on stage at the same time as the audience.

The arena was filled with some 13,000 lucky guests who were able to experience the historical TV moment. Tom Hanks acted as MC, telling Oprah, “Today you are surrounded by nothing but love.” Then more big names took their turns on the stage, gushing about Oprah and all she had achieved during her quarter-century on air, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Madonna, Diane Sawyer, Dakota Fanning, Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Jerry Seinfeld, Simon Cowell, Rosie O’Donnell, Michael Jordan, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith. There were performances from the Black Eyed Peas, Beyoncé (who had to tape hers twice due to technical problems the first time), Jamie Foxx and Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban and Patti LaBelle, Kristin Chenoweth, Alicia Keys, Usher and Aretha Franklin.

Keep reading for more about the taping . . .

It’s a busy time for TV in the States at the moment as networks announce which shows they’ll be picking up, renewing and axing. Fox, which is home to some favourites like Glee, American Idol, Fringe and more held their upfront program in New York City today, where they presented some of the new and current TV shows that’ll be sticking around on the network. They opened the show with a performance by Glee’s Warblers, led by Darren Criss, followed by the other case members singing “New York, New York,” before getting into the presentations of the shows on the Fox line-up. New shows on the roster this year include the inaugural US The X Factor and The New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel.

Keep reading for more photos!

Just last week it was confirmed that Natalie Bassingthwaighte is the fourth and final judge on the local version of The X Factor. Over in the US, Simon Cowell is putting the finishing touches on his attempt to bring the popular competition show stateside, and he’s just enlisted former American Idol colleague Paula Abdul to join him at the judges’ table with Cheryl Cole and record producer LA Reid. Paula, who judged up-and-coming talent on Idol for eight seasons before leaving the show in 2009, said in a statement, “I am excited beyond words to be a part of The X Factor. I couldn’t be happier to bring my love for cultivating talent and performance to such a wildly anticipated show.” She added, “I’m also delighted and grateful to be sitting next to Simon again . . . but you might want to check back with me in a week or two!” And it seems the feeling is mutual: Simon also said that he missed Paula and is “thrilled she’s on the show.” Rounding out the cast are Nicole Scherzinger (of Pussycat Dolls fame) and Welsh presenter Steve Jones as hosts of the show, which has just kicked off auditions in LA. How do you think the US X Factor will compare to American Idol and new show The Voice?

Simon Cowell and his fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy attended the International Emmy Awards in New York last night, showing a united front after split reports due to their time apart while he appears on The X Factor UK. Rupert Murdoch presented Simon with the Founders Emmy Award for his "enormous" cultural contributions during the ceremony, which was hosted by Jason Priestley. Peter Facinelli attended and presented an award, as did Melissa Joan Hart and Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss. Brits Bob Hoskins and Helena Bonham Carter won best actor and actress and The Street won best drama series, making it a successful night for the UK.

Keep reading . . .