And with good reason. Rachel Crow is adorable, has a great personality (and a little bit of sass!) – and can sing.

Even Simon Cowell loved her!

Rachel Crow got high marks from X Factor judges Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid, Cheryl Cole, and Simon Cowell.

What did you think of her audition?

Paula Abdul will join The X Factor’s judges’ panel, along with L.A. Reid and Cheryl Cole, as well as Cowell. The X Factor will be hosted by Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones.

Cowell made the announcment about Paula Abdul, saying in a statement, “This show would never have been the same without Paula and I can’t believe I am saying this, [but] I have missed her a lot, and I am thrilled she’s on the show.”

Abdul is happy about the new gig, beaming, “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.

Abdul added, “I’m looking forward to being back with the FOX/FremantleMedia family and know that it will be an extraordinary journey — we’re going to have a blast. 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!”

X-Factor mogul, Simon Cowell, isn’t going to miss out on the next Justin Bieber. Today, Simon signed, Heather Russell, a 10-year old Toronto resident to a record deal. Earlier this week Lady GaGa was moved to tears when watching a clip of Heather performing Born this Way. “I was kind of surprised because I know I have a lot of support from the people who watched my videos on YouTube. I’m glad it got to Lady Gaga,” Heather told a local newspaper. “It was one of my goals in life to be a singer. I like a lot of different artists, but (Lady Gaga) is really unique.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Isaak has met twice with Fox about the Idol judging gig… that sounds promising, right? But there are also reports that Harry Connick Jr. is still a possibility. Bret Michaels, however, is reportedly not on the short list anymore.

Looks like we’ll know soon enough who will be filling Simon’s Idol shoes – the replacement will need to go on the road for auditions starting in early September.

What do you think of Chris Isaak taking over for Simon?

Bret Michaels told the crowd at a recent concert in Biloxi, Mississippi: “I don’t know if it’s true, but I could possibly be a judge on American Idol.”

While it’s hard to imagine someone else filling Simon Cowell’s shoes, a lot of Idol fans would warm up to Bret Michaels, who’s recent recovery from a brain hemorrhage is nothing short of a miracle.

No judge job offer has been extended to Bret Michaels, so this is far from a done deal… although reportedly Simon Cowell did have some kind words about Michaels as a replacement.

Michaels told People.com, “I was honored that Simon said that, and I would be honored to do it.”

Michaels also rattles off some of his real-world experience that could make him a likely judge: “I’m talking old-school, paying-my-dues experience. I used to move the pool table out of the way to play for people six nights a week, playing five sets a night, where I had to announce the dinner special. I grew up the old-fashioned way. I would have done anything to have a platform like American Idol when I was growing up.”

Bret adds, “I would bring my heart and my soul and amazingly honest and truthful advice. And I would tell them if I thought their chances of making it were really slim — and how to fix that. Because my chances of making it were extremely slim. It’s come from brute determination.”

In this Ellen DeGeneres interview, Simon Cowell gives his Lee prediction and talks about wrapping up his nine years on American Idol.

Cowell says, “I am feeling a bit sad because we’re nearly there, but at the same time do you remember sort of that last three weeks when you were leaving school and you kind of couldn’t wait to get out. It’s a little bit like that. It’s kind of exciting. I’m not being ungrateful. I’ve had a fantastic time and the show changed my life but I just kind of knew it was time to do something different.”

As for the prediction that Lee Dewyze wins American Idol, Cowell says, “I think Lee is going to win. The last two years I’ve gotten it completely and utterly wrong, so I don’t think anyone is listening to me anymore.”

Simon Cowell confirms his engagement on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in this video clip, bringing his fiancee (Idol makeup artist) Mezhgan Hussainy on stage.

Jay Leno says, “Are rumors you’re engaged true?” Cowell responds: “Are they true? Well, I do have somebody in my life now, Jay, yes. And I kinda made a decision this year to make somebody happy.”

In this video clip, Simon Cowell gives high praise for American Idol contestant Crystal Bowersox:

Simon Cowell’s rep says of the engagement rumors, “I see it being repeated everywhere. But when I asked him last Wednesday, when he and Mezhgan were about to fly back to L.A., I said, ‘Are you engaged?’ His answer was, ‘Max, I’m not engaged.’ That was last Wednesday.”

His rep continues, “They have known each other for years. They’ve actually been going out together for the last year. She knows him, she’s been around him. So, she knows the person he is, and he knows the person she is. That’s why it works so well.”

I don’t think there’s much of a chance that Howard Stern will take over the judge gig, given his shock jock reputation, but Stern does say that Idol folks would “have to pay me a ton of dough, because I already make a ton of dough.”

Stern tells his radio listeners: “A $100 million to judge a karaoke contest? Yeah, I think I would do that show for $100 million. It would be the best thing that happened to me. What a cush job: $100 million for four months. Who wouldn’t take that?”

Stern beats around the bush a bit on the Idol gig, saying: “I’m not going to comment about any discussions I might or might not have had. I watch ‘American Idol.’ … people seem to think that if I was on it, because I’m such a foul-mouthed, miserable f—, that I would get them thrown off the air. I know how to judge.”

Howard does think he’d make a worthy replacement though: “If I do say so myself, I can’t imagine anyone else but me replacing [Cowell]. I mean, how else are they going to make that show work? Who knows how to broadcast and who knows how to be interesting? And who’s not afraid to speak their mind?”