Simon Cowell quits 'American Idol'

[dutchman]

Simon Cowell has confirmed that the current season of American Idol will be his last.


The music mogul has quit the show after nine seasons in order to launch a US version of The X Factor in 2011.

Appearing at the Fox execs session at the TCA press tour today, Cowell confirmed that he would serve as judge and executive producer on the new series.

Cowell told reporters that it would have been "impossible" for him to continue on Idol alongside The X Factor. He also serves as a judge on the original UK version of The X Factor as well as Britain's Got Talent.

On his potential replacements on Idol, Cowell commented: "I've had the best eight or nine years of my life doing this job. The most important thing is [for Fox] to get someone who knows what they're talking about. I want to leave Idol this year bigger and better than ever before. I hope it'll be higher-rated than it was last year."

The new season of American Idol premieres Tuesday night on Fox.