Simon Cowell talks 'X Factor,' who will he get to replace Paula and Nicole?

Simon Cowell admits that he may have set his expectations too high when it comes to The X Factor.

The British judge explained to Extra that it is because of his “big mouth” that Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger had to be let go. He explains that, "It's only because I opened my big mouth and said we were going to get 20 million [viewers]. If I hadn't said that, everybody would be saying the show was a huge success."

FOX’s X Factor is comparable with the likes of The Voice and American Idol. The Voice is now noted as the show’s biggest competitor as it claims to have ‘Grammy-award winning mentors.’ Simon refutes that idea by asking, “How many artists have they discovered?”

Simon admits that he feels bad at the loss of judge Paula Abdul. In his interview with Extra, he comments, “I would've liked to have kept her. She was very gracious and I said that to her. She understands it's business; it's never personal." He also admitted that Scherzinger was “disappointed” but states that L.A Reid was the only judge that is indispensable, There's not a record executive out there who is as good as him for the job."

As for who will replace these two lovely ladies, Simon squashed rumors that he has hired Beyonce. He states, “No. I have no idea where this rumor came from. I read it online that I offered her $100 million a year. It's complete nonsense." Others names that have dropped are Madonna, to which he says would be “expensive,” Mariah Carey, who he admitting loves but understands that a woman with two new children can’t make that sort of time commitment. Katy Perry, he notes, would be “fun and feisty.”

Who do you think Simon will use to replace Paula and Nicole?