Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Simon Cowell spoke to Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS FM radio program this morning about his decision to bring the X Factor to the U.S. and leave American Idol after season nine.

Simon said he’s always wanted to bring the show to the U.S., but that he had considered continuing on American Idol as well. But …

“You’ve got to know when it’s time to go,” he told Ryan. “At one point I was going to do both shows. I genuinely thought people would be sick and tired of me.”

Simon’s suggestion for his replacement on Idol: Ryan.

“You just jump from the stage into my chair,” Simon said jokingly. “That way, you have two jobs.”

Ryan tried to pry information out of Simon about who else will be judging on the American version of X Factor.

“Is there a Paula Abdul in your future?” Ryan asked.

Simon wasn’t telling. “You just have to wait and see,” he responded.

Simon’s big announcement happened to coincide with the first day of Hollywood Week.

Yeah, you read correctly. The audition episodes we’ll be watching tonight and tomorrow night (I’ll be blogging live, by the way) were filmed months ago.

Anyway, Hollywood Week started Monday, with Ryan and the judges — Ellen included, for the first time — welcoming back all the contestants who earned golden tickets.

“With all the news and the buzz going on yesterday, it was kind of business as usual,” Ryan said this morning.