After much speculation, it has today been confirmed that Kelly Rowland has officially opted not to return to The X Factor UK.
Statement after the jump…
After much speculation, we can officially confirm today that Kelly Rowland has decided not to return as a judge again for this year’s UK X Factor. Global commitments coupled with the show’s increasing demands this year mean that, despite weeks of deliberation with the show, Kelly has not been able to agree a deal that fits into her autumn/winter schedule, so sadly cannot accept a place on the 2012 panel.
Kelly thoroughly enjoyed her role as a judge on the show, but felt that if there couldn’t be a workable solution to scheduling issues, so that she could effectively juggle her other commitments then she couldn’t wholeheartedly commit to the show this year. Kelly says, ‘I love the UK and being part of the show last year. Mentoring the girls was such an incredible experience I will never forget. I would like to thank Simon for the great opportunity and asking me to be a judge last season.’
******
And there, folks, you have it.
We had it on very-very-very reliable word that Simon Cowell did indeed want Kelly back on the panel and a deal had been put on the table by him and ITV, yet it’s clear the terms couldn’t be reached.
The news evokes a divided emotion from yours truly. Of course, a seat on the panel of one of the UK’s biggest shows could have done wonders for Kelly’s British presence. However, the theatrics, politics and media propaganda (which, if to keep it all the way 100, had very racial undertones), rendered her stint somewhat unfortunate. Sad, as she was easily the best (and most qualified) judge next to Gary Barlow.
If scheduling was indeed the issue, it’d be awesome to see Kelly take up one of the vacant seats on the X Factor USA (wouldn’t that be a swerve-ball and then some?!) However, in the event Kelly’s X Factor journey has wrapped, we hope the commitments which kept her from taking part are worth it. Interesting times and announcements are on the horizon.
Your thoughts?
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let’s be serious that being a xfactor or americn idol judges is USELESS , infact last year Here i am in uk flopped even worse than america i really liked in the show, she was the most qualified , funny and entertaining judge , but at the end people seemed to prefer Tulisa maybe because she is English , or white or….like cheryl cole , talentless who know!i want a new album for the end of this year , and come back in uk not as a xfactor judge but as a great singer with a mega hit in her hands!!!!
That’s sad news, Kelly being on the panel highlighted how racist the british media can be, they were vile with her, as were some of the messag boards, so in a way Kelly’s better off not doing it again but will be missed, she’s was a good judge and brought spark to a panel what consist mostly of boring personalities, I won’t be tuning in this year.
@Sam —
BWAHAHAHAHAHAH…
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAH….
YA-YA-YA-YA….BWAYAHAHAHAHAH…
ME-TOLD-YA-SO…
As I’d figured, THIS was nothing more than yet ANOTHER ‘Rowdog’ lie: http://uk.omg.yahoo.com/news/kelly-rowland-return-x-factor-second-year-064324707.html
Sam, nice try. But FFFFFAIL: “We had it on very-very-very reliable word that Simon Cowell did indeed want Kelly back on the panel and a deal had been put on the table by him and ITV.”
“RACISM”..?! Sam, you’re selling it by the pound/2-for-1 – but ain’t NO ONE buying – Simon Cowl, himself, DID NOT want the almost 40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland anywhere near X-Factor U.K. “Why,” you now ask? Well that’s simple – after months of having weekly-access to 12-Million wiling-n-able U.K./European discretionary-spending consumers, as then, that sitting X-Factor U.K. JUDGE/MENTOR of up-and-coming talent, and she could ONLY move that PATHETIC less-than 150-K “Here I am” units….?! There’s absolutely ZERO way Simon Cowell was going to have her remain on that show – NONE!!! Kelly Rowland would’ve further tarnished the X-Factor U.K. brand. And given how B**’s “Strictly Come Dancing” is fast-eating into X-Factor audience share, Mr. Cowell just couldn’t afford any more…”charity”.
..LIKE W-T-F…!! SHE’S A F****** BUM – KELLY ROWLAND AND HER NO-TALENT SELLING SKINNY-GIRL CELLULITE-A** HAD TO GO..!!
X,Y,”and Z”
DANNII MINOGUE TO RETURN… MAYBE…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raia0L9BBEs&feature=share
@GIO88 and Sophie —
Had “racism” caused “Here I am” to fail in the U.S. (less-than 200K moved), even though she was on one of summer 2011’s hottest, most-talked about tours: Chris Brown’s F.A.M.E tour?
Was it “racism” that got her dropped from Colombia Records?
Was it “racism” that prevented 2007’s “Ms Kelly” sales?
Was it “racism” that made 2002’s “Simply Deep” fail (on a ROI basis)?
Was “Our Sista-Girl Of Eternal Victim-Hood” the subject of some secret sinister Matthew Knowles plot to end her career?
..STOP ALREADY..!!
What you, and Sam, are NOW struggling to ‘coming to grips with’ is what Matthew Knowles had long ago understood – Kelly Rowland, and Michele Williams, weren’t “up-front” material. Neither had the “star quality” to lead, nor to be the “focus of attention”; their as-since-solo-artist careers proves him correct..
..Kelly Rowland and Michele Williams are still NOW, what Matthew Knowles had THEN correctly understood them to be: little more than life-sized human cardboard cutouts for HIS “destiny’s seed” to sing and dance around!
..THAT’S IT..
There’s no nefarious-minded cabal, now or then, plotting the downfall of the now almost-40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland. What “IT” is, is what “IT” was then, and what Matthew Knowles already knew:
1.) A LACKING OF ANY TALENT!
2.) A LACK OF CHARISMA!
3.) A LACK OF CHARM(S)!
4.) A LACKING OF STAGE-PRESENCE!
5.) A LACKING OF GRAVITAS!
6.) A LACKING OF AN..EASE (the harder she tried, the more forced she seemed)!
Kelly Rowland for 10-years-since-as-solo-artist, has now been fortunate enough to fail-upwards. She’s managed, after each successive “upwards-step of failure”, to worm her way BACK into the better graces of the public by use of rumor, guile, spin, “cuteness-in-lieu-of-talent”, and “for colored girls only/woe-is-my-dark-skin” guilt..!!
But no more! This latest failure was on such a brightly-lit stage, that it’s now managed to cast a revealing light upon her entire, now decade-long career. It’s now revealed Kelly Rowland to be a “career failure”. She’s expertly projected this “lost stray puppy” persona upon the mass and they bought-into it. BUT NO MORE!
X,Y,”and Z” — OUT..!!
X factor racist? HELL YEAH!
Talking as a British person the British media including X factor are racist. Having Kelly Rowland on the show was offensive to them, how dear they have a dark skinned beautiful, successful black woman on the television, especially one of the most popular shows (the majority of the public didn’t like her for those reasons including the media, they rather have somebody who looks like them.)
This is how it works to be liked by the british media or the british population, this is what you have to have:
1, You have to be white
2, If you are not white, you have to have eurocentric features:
You have to have lightskin, straight hair, small nose, small lips
3, if you are not a lightskined black person with eurocentric features, you have to be a black man. If they want to seem to be “multi-cultural” a black man is the next option, especially if he dates white women. You never see a black couple in the media, it is non heard of.
THE OTHER THING YOU WONT SEE IS A DARK SKINNED WOMEN, especially when she is good looking. It is too offensive they want to maintain the European standard of beauty, having a dark skinned black women is defeating the purpose, apparently. so there is no way they are going to like Kelly Rowland, and the will find any opportunity to say all sorts about her. They can’t have a dark skin woman being admired by they brothers, relatives or husbands. That is the reason they can accept Beyonce or Rihanna, because they don’t look far off from a white person, they have light skin and now bloude hair, happy days.
Alexandra won xfactor last year. but there is no way they will let another black woman win xfactor or be on xfactor, one is more than enough (now the can say everybody has an equal opportunity). That is a reason why a lot of talented black women get voted off the show in the early stages. Last year Meshia B was treated really badly, she was always in the bottom 2, the media always wrote nasty things about her, even though she was the most talented contestant. Racism is live and kicking towards black women within the british media, and x factor has just made it that clear.
No xfactor for me no more!
This show was very racist toward Kelly, every chance they got they kept bringing up the fact that she’s an American. It should have been about the fact that she brought a wealth of experience to the show, Louis actually stated on the show that she shouldn’t win because she’s an American but said he was only joking. That shows how disrespectful the Brits are, Tulsia cheated in order to win. I think we Americans should treat your stars the way you treated her, but we have more class then that.
i think she’s better off without it tbh, it did nothing for her, even hindered her success in retrospect i agree about the subtle racism. they are as understate as the comments i read when Briitish folks were commenting on Bey’s People cover; talking about how she doenst have the right nose, bone structure blah blah blah. Racism is alive and kicking people which is why we should stop hating on one another because A is lightskinned and wears blonde weaves, it’s a woman’s prerogative to enhance her outward beauty so if she wants to wear blond weaves damn let her be
I agree with Sam. Kelly was great on X Factor at the beginning and then drama unfolded. I’m glad she has decided to move on. Best of luck Kells!
How did it hender her success when her album tanked after having a big single. None of her singles or albums did anything. Even having Motivation out, didnt get people to rush to the store and purchase her album. She was on the scene constantly ; on tour with Chris Brown, making tv appearances….people are simply not checking for her like that – in the states or overseas. She was on X-Factor in the UK and her album went no where there to.
@ X,Y,”and Z”
You are speaking the truth! But for some, they are in extreme denial. It’s time for the blame game to end and look at things for what they truely are.
LOL. Kelly is not an a-lister. So how is she doing to much where she can’t be apart of this show? I smell bulls**t.
Good move, takes too much time and she has a new album coming out.
Also the UK didn’t warm to her for some reason.
Still love Kelly though!
I wish these haters like @LAQ shut the hell up… Kelly is grown and she done need no haters telling here what to do… She has money, she dont give a f@#k if she’s not as big as beyonce.. Kelly still got monet out the a** more the any of us on this gossip site.. I happy for you kelly, keep doing you.. Good job last year and muke this year even better.. PS simon did want her back because its all over the web.. So in your face for the hating a** h*** that kept saying she got fired.. Haters need to just die..
Amen to Aaron above, everything you said is the truth
@Mitch Are you kidding??? What happen when simon cowell joined american Idol.. the fact that he is English was bought up non stop.. does that mean the show was racist against simon cowell?
Does that show how disrespectful the americans are?
To anybody that uses the word ‘racism’ towards the UK and Kelly/X-factor = B*******. Coming from someone who is British I can tell you how it was. Across the whole of the British audience, Kelly was polled as the favourite judge during the auditions. However, during the live shows, she pretty much didn’t give care criticism all the time. She kept siding with all the BS Gary Barlow was talking. She also became quite out of line towards Louis, snapping back at him at many given chances. Everyone deserves a fair opinion. Also as the show progressed it was evident Kelly was getting bored. I’m no Kelly hater, I love her. I loved her album. Look back at Kellys previous music history with the UK and you can see she was a big hit. The only reason Here I Am flopped was because the only single released and promoted here was Down For Whatever, which wasn’t up to scratch. Lay It On Me was fantastic for Kelly, she should have pushed that. I love Kelly and I’m so damn excited for her future. Come back to the UK and slaaay!
Simon Cowell, Britney Spears, Kelly Rowland and L.A Reid would be a KILLER panel on X Factor US
Yes the media coverage is racist, the Sun and Daily Mail are impossible to read…then again they are tabloids. Good Decision Kelly and wish you all the best!!
Ms. Rowland is the BEST! looking forward to her next move!
Yes Kelz leave the freaking UK in the dust! You have work to do unlike the other judges!
im glad! They Messed her up with MISHA B
Go to Greener Pastures. Leave Nasty Minded Tulisa there!
They let her go easy. They could have put out what they leaked to the press “Simon and the crew wanted shot of her but she kept trying to cling on like she didn’t it”. she messed up what could have been a huge launch for her but there was also an element of favouritism towards Tulisa in the media, a lot of negative, behind the scenes stories about Kelly and her team and that made the public dislike her even more, but she really did not help herself on live shows.
Good. She needs to focus on the success of the next album.
@Stevie —
Of ALL the judges/mentor on 2011 X-Factor U.K., who had the most name-recognition? Kelly Rowland.
Which X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor ALSO had the most-easily recognizable face? Kelly Rowland.
Which X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor had a U.K. #1-single , “Commander”, going into 2011 X-Factor U.K.? Kelly Rowland.
Which X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor had experienced the most “success” (albeit as then a ‘background’ member of a group)? Kelly Rowland.
Which X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor had the longest career as a 10-years-since solo artist? Kelly Rowland.
Which X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor had a #1-U.S. single, “Motivation” (nevermind the fact that it took an eternal, 4-months, to go platinum)? Kelly Rowland!
Which 2011 X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor was voted one of the most liked/popular? Kelly Rowland.
Which X-Factor U.K. judge/mentor was a part of one of THE most-talked about,
hotly-anticipated summer 2011 tours: Chris Brown’s ‘F.A.M.E’ tour? Kelly Rowland.
And there’s: “but Kelly’s so CUTE!”
..Oh the miracles that current-day make-up,photoshop, camera angles can work:
(1.) Uneven, unhealthy skin? Poof! ..GONE!
(2.) Hideous, tar-waves of skinny-girl cellulite? Now you see them, now you don’t!
(3.) A healthy, flowing mane of locks to frame that made-up “layers-deep kissing-to-be-clever” face? It’s “yours” if you bought it – I won’t tell if you don’t. (I’d be..UNMOTIVATING if I didn’t mention the OTHER body parts purchased by the almost-40-something-year-old Kelly Rowland: her perky, school-girl tits, and that slender nose bridge of hers(?)).
Oh, but Kelly is my dark-skinned sista-girl!
And they aren’t OTHER, MORE-TALENTED “dark-skinned’ girls who are, at the very least, as equally deserving of a chance..?!
..Kelly Rowland just LOOOOVES her “dark skin” so much, that it couldn’t have been she who said (repeatedly): “Orlando Bloom, and men who look like him, are T-H-E most beautiful men in the world!” ..Now you know why she and her black back-up dancers have ZERO chemistry between them! It’s the very reason why she BEAMED when recently talking about the “love of her life” that now completes her! Mind you now, her “choices” are HER choices – god bless her! But don’t expect black men…HETEROSEXUAL black men to support her; white men (especially those who look like Orlando Bloom), yes! Black women, yes; GAY black men – absolutely! St8 black men: HELL-F*** NO!!
Kelly Rowland’s career is one that sees her being handed chance after chance, opportunity after opportunity after such, only to then see them squandered. For her entire career she managed to climb the failure ladder, failing her way upwards to the next rung, and then stumbling towards opportunity’s door. Somehow, by use of guilt and a creepy, sideways charm she manages to get invited in:
2002’s “Simply Deep” 2-Million World Wide..
2007’s “Miss Kelly” 1-Million World Wide..
2008 – she’s dropped by Colombia Records. Does an artist get dropped after only one “bad” album? NO! Of course not! 2002’s “Simply Deep” was a failure given the amount of funds lavished upon it!
2011’s “Here I am” – The lucky, ebullient, and forever effervescent Kelly Rowland was then given weekly-access, for months on end, to 12-Million U.K./European discretionary-spending consumers. Surely this is an opportunity of a lifetime, one ANY artist would literally sell their souls for! And what does SHE do when handed the “keys to heaven”? *womp-womp* ..Less-than 350-K WW/Less-than 150-K from said, weekly-seen for months on-end ,12-Million U.K./European X-Factor U.K. consumer-discretionary spending viewers..
KELLY ROWLAND: PERPETUAL-MOTION FAILURE MACHINE.
X,Y,”and Z”
Kelly was the reason why I was watching the X-facator UK. When the drama
happpen between Tulsa and Kelly mos of the Britsh people were on
Tulsa side even Louis. Gary stood up for Kelly but people still said
negative comments about her. I think Kelly will find more work.
@Angela Wesley re: 7:51 pm —
Sam says: “Poor Kelly! It can’t possibly be “MY” uber-talented Kelly!!”
You say: “Kelly is the reason I watched X-Factor U.K.”
12-Million X-Factor U.K. viewers say: “Here I am” is a flop: less-than 150-K moved.
Simon says: “Kelly, you’re FIRED..!!”
X,Y,”and Z” says: “I’m out”
YES!!!!
she shouldnt have been there anyway
i got nothing against x factor uk, but she should have been concentrating her energy OVER HERE, in the U.S, where she needs the promotion the most
thats the only thing that f*cked her up on that last album
being on that dang show
As an American fan I’m glad she’s not going back!!!
Kelly’s lack of success has nothing to do with promotion because she was very much so promoted in the US and in the UK. I love Kelly, but it is what it is. There isn’t much interest in her . It’s the same thing with every album. “Motivation” was huge but the consumers still didn’t catch on. She was on the hottest show in the UK, but the consumers still didn’t catch on. She released “Lay It On Me” and the consumers didnt care.
X dude! You must not know Gary Barlow & Take That were the BIGGEST thing in the UK around the time DC were just getting started over here. Take That were in the middle of a sell UK Tour (100,000 seater tour) during the audition stages. Many people only knew Beyonce and most of the people that buy music now a days in the UK are more likely to know Tulisa Cuntinstavlos (singer of the cult band NDubz) than Destiny Child. Hun, you may think you are some book of knowledge when it comes to Miss Rowland-Knowles but you don’t know everything about everything my love. Kelly was not a household name and I really don’t think “Commander” was #1 but Tulisa cousin and NDubz band mate was riding high in the charts during X factor, hence a lot of support for Kellys nemesis and Cheryl Cole lookalike.
Do ur thing Kelly! u don’t need them!
& yall please follow me now: http://www.twitter.com/shynlownoam
X factor racist? HELL YEAH!
Talking as a British person the British media including X factor are racist. Having Kelly Rowland on the show was offensive to them, how dear they have a dark skinned beautiful, successful black woman on the television, especially one of the most popular shows (the majority of the public didn’t like her for those reasons including the media, they rather have somebody who looks like them.)
This is how it works to be liked by the british media or the british population, this is what you have to have:
1, You have to be white
2, If you are not white, you have to have eurocentric features:
You have to have lightskin, straight hair, small nose, small lips
3, if you are not a lightskined black person with eurocentric features, you have to be a black man. If they want to seem to be “multi-cultural” a black man is the next option, especially if he dates white women. You never see a black couple in the media, it is non heard of.
THE OTHER THING YOU WONT SEE IS A DARK SKINNED WOMEN, especially when she is good looking. It is too offensive they want to maintain the European standard of beauty, having a dark skinned black women is defeating the purpose, apparently. so there is no way they are going to like Kelly Rowland, and the will find any opportunity to say all sorts about her. They can’t have a dark skin woman being admired by they brothers, relatives or husbands. That is the reason they can accept Beyonce or Rihanna, because they don’t look far off from a white person, they have light skin and now bloude hair, happy days.
Alexandra won xfactor last year. but there is no way they will let another black woman win xfactor or be on xfactor, one is more than enough (now the can say everybody has an equal opportunity). That is a reason why a lot of talented black women get voted off the show in the early stages. Last year Meshia B was treated really badly, she was always in the bottom 2, the media always wrote nasty things about her, even though she was the most talented contestant. Racism is live and kicking towards black women within the british media, and x factor has just made it that clear.
No xfactor for me no more!