Cowell hikes prize for US X Factor

The top finisher on the new X Factor show will end up rich even if they do not become a music star.

Besides a recording contract, the winning singer or singers will receive a $5m cash prize and be featured in a Super Bowl commercial for Pepsi, X Factor creator Simon Cowell has said, speaking to reporters by satellite from England.

Previously, Fox TV had announced the prize was a five million dollar record contract. But Cowell said there will be a cash payment as well as recording expenses provided.

He did not specify the value of the contract with Syco, a joint venture between Sony Music and Cowell.

Cowell, a former American Idol judge, is bringing his UK-born show to Fox in September. Unlike American Idol, the contest is open to both solo singers and groups and has a lower minimum age of 12 and no upper age limit. Like American Idol, Cowell will be joined by Paula Abdul as a judge.

Others on the panel are Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of the Pussycat Dolls, and record executive Antonio “LA” Reid. Steve Jones, a British TV personality, is the host.

Scherzinger, who was to share host duties with Jones, replaced British pop star Cheryl Cole as a judge when Cowell and other producers had second thoughts about her joining the US series.

Cowell said he tried to return Cole to her judging role on the UK’s X Factor, believing she would be more comfortable there, but the deal fell apart.

When he was asked whether Cole was dumped because she and Abdul did not get along, Cowell jumped at the opportunity to revisit his bickering past with his former American Idol colleague.

“If it was a question of not getting along with Paula, then I wouldn’t be on the show,” he said.

Mariah Carey has been enthusiastic about the X Factor but “selfishly got pregnant and didn’t end up as a judge”, Cowell said.

The pop star, who is married to America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon and gave birth to twins in April, is being courted to participate in the show in some way, Cowell said.

Cowell’s trademark sarcasm played well with Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly, who spoke to reporters after the X Factor Q&A session with the Television Critics Association.

Reilly referred admiringly to “the dark charm of that man”, adding: “You can’t resist him.”

Cowell said the X Factor differs markedly from American Idol, which will continue airing on Fox from January to May. The X Factor is produced by Cowell’s Syco Television and FremantleMedia North America, which is a producer of American Idol.

“We see this as a game changer” with different rules and a goal of turning someone into a star, Cowell said. And he’s aiming to make X Factor America’s top-rated show.

The goal is never “the silver medal” he said. “You want to be No 1, and over the next few months we’re going to throw everything at this to make this the best show on TV,” he said.

The Pepsi commercial deal will give the X Factor winner visibility during the Super Bowl next February on NBC. Known as advertising’s biggest showcase, the football championship garnered a record 111 million viewers when it aired on Fox this year, according to Nielsen.