Britney Spears Officially Signs on as "X-Factor" Judge

After months of anticipation and negotiations, Britney Spears has officially signed a contract to join “The X-Factor's” judging panel.

Sitting alongside the show’s creator Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid, the pop sensation has agreed to a deal that will earn her $15 million for one season.

"The contract is signed," a close friend of Spears revealed to E!. "There's been a lot of back and forth over the past few weeks as they negotiated the small details, but she's on. It's all completed and Britney is beyond excited."

After the former “American Idol” personality fired judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger along with host Steve Jones, he’s been searing for the perfect celebrity replacements to help boost the show’s ratings.

"She's ready for this," the friend continued. "She can't wait to sit down next to Simon at the judges' table and give this everything she's got. She is excited about showing the world that she can do this, and do this well. This is the perfect next stage in her career. Both Britney and Simon are very excited to work together."

Spears' contract will be six times what former judge Abdul made during the show's first season, which was reportedly $2.5 million.

The British TV mogul made it clear just how badly he wanted Britney on his panel when he told Billy Bush in February, “The fact that she’s one of the most talked about — not just pop stars, but people — in the world today means that you’ve got this star power, she’s still hot, she’s still having hit records, and she’s still controversial. There’s a reason for that.”

The former "American Idol" judge can only hope for a boost in ratings now that he's got the pop megastar on board. Last year, Simon and those behind the "X-Factor" production were expecting a whopping 20 million viewers for the show's debut season and instead wound up averaging closer to 12 million.

Cowell is still in the works to find a fourth judge and rumors surfaced that he was negotiating with former Disney stars Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, but neither have confirmed. 

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