Janet Jackson Joining THE X FACTOR?

As first reported in the Hollywood Reporter, superstar Janet Jackson is in preliminary talks to join the judges panel for the upcoming season of Fox's THE X FACTOR.  

In a cryptic interview with Anderson Cooper yesterday, the singer tried to evade questions regarding her participation on next season's show. Asked if she is currently a judge on the singing competition, the singer replied, “No, I am not. But that’s all I really think I should say.”

Fox recently announced that Season 1 judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, along with the show's host Steve Jones, would not be returning for a second season. It was recently reported that the late Whitney Houston had been one of the candidates under consideration to come on board as a judge. Other stars rumored to be in talks are Beyonce and rock star Pink.

Simon Cowell recently revealed to Extra that he has been considering pop star Katy Perry for the judging position, commenting “I worked with Katy once. I think she would be fun because she is hard — in a good way — and she’s feisty.” He continued, "She would be great. In terms of experience, success … brilliant.”