“American Idol” judge Simon Cowell said that he still loves being part of the top rating show from Fox Network and revealed that he would be staying as judge for at least another year based on the conditions of his contract.

The British judge, famous for being acerbic, hinted in previous interviews that he may be leaving the show in order to ease up his busy schedule a bit. Cowell is also doing other projects, including two toprating British-based shows.

Despite the speculations, Cowell said that he has a lot of options in the future and he’s still considering them all.

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In a surprising development, this season’s “American Idol” will see a rule change which involved providing the show’s judges a right to veto.

The “Judges’ Save” rule was announced this weeks thus giving the show’s four judges (Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi)the power to save one contender from elimination by the public. However, this can only be done once during this season and that it won’t be applied when the contestants are already narrowed into five.

Another condition that must be followed is that the judges must be unanimous in their decision to save that contestant.

This move was deemed unexpected considering that the show depends mostly on the votes made by the public. This garnered mixed reviews from critics and fans.
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A spokeswoman for Simon Cowell said that the “American Idol” judge was simply joking when he said that he wants to be frozen after death. This statement came out after several media outlets reported that Cowell was “seriously” mulling over this possibility.

Spokeswoman Lisa Dallos said on Tuesday that Cowell talked about this in jest during a formal dinner with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other important guests two weeks ago.

However, this statement was considered to be a serious one thus gaining interest from several news agencies who went on to report the incident.
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American Idol judges Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell sent their condolences to Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson, who’s mother, brother and nephew were killed by an unknown suspect.

“This is a horrific tragedy and my thoughts and prayers go out to Jennifer and her entire family,” Abdul said.

“I was horrified when I heard the news. This is an appalling tragedy. My thoughts right now are with Jennifer, and her family,” Cowell said in an interview with Extra.

Hudson gained fame as one of the contestants of the hit talent search before she went on to win the Oscar for her role in “Dreamgirls.”