If you have been following the evolution of the American version of The X Factor online, you were probably already aware that Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole didn’t last as an X Factor judge past the first audition round. The question of why she was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, however, still remains somewhat unresolved. There had been some rumor that Cole’s accent was uncomfortable to American viewers, but X Factor judge and boss Simon Cowell said that wasn’t it.

Speaking to Piers Morgan on CNN, Cowell said that someone at The X Factor screening “put it very well” when they remarked that Cheryl Cole “looked a bit bewildered” during the first auditions. Cowell said Cole did not take the adjustment to working in America very well.

“Not everyone’s like you Piers,” Cowell told the former Britain’s Got Talent judge. “You come to a country like America, it’s a big deal – it takes a while to adjust and I took the view along with a few other people that she would be more comfortable back in the UK.”

Cowell also said Cheryl Cole had rejected his offer for her to return to the British X Factor and that was a shame. “I think if she had taken the UK gig I think nobody would be feeling bad right now because they’re both big shows – well hopefully this one will be as big as the UK show.”

Nicole Scherzinger, meanwhile, is thrilled to have been selected as the replacement to sit on the X Factor judges panel. “I mean I’m not going to lie, I cried when Simon told me because I felt that no matter where he had me on the show I was going to be of service and do the best that I could.”

Scherzinger may be giddy about her gig, but the critics are not so pleased about her replacing Cheryl Cole. The New York Times called Nicole Scherzinger a “downgrade” from Cheryl Cole and USA Today said Scherzinger” makes Paula Abdul look smart.” Ouch!

Beyoncé, 29, has been plagued with pregnancy rumors for years and it seems like the latest round of gossip about her growing baby bump actually were true after all!

Before performing “Love on Top” at the VMAs, Beyoncé told the audience, “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside of me.” After her performance, Beyoncé unbuttoned her jacked, rubbed her rounded stomach and visually announced that she and husband Jay-Z were expecting a baby. The screams from the audience were deafening.

Beyoncé’s husband, rapper Jay-Z, reacted to his wife’s announcement with a beaming smile, clapping loudly while Kanye West slapped him on the back.

“I think she’ll be an incredible mother,” Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland told EOnline.com. “She’s always been motherly. I think that takes after so many traits from her mother [Tina Knowles]. I just think it’s going to be so natural for her. It’s natural for her now. I can’t believe this to this day.”

Beyoncé’s pregnancy could delay her role in Clint Eastwood‘s remake film of A Star Is Born, which was tentatively due to start shooting in February, according to Deadline.com.

Conan O'Brien (YouTube)

“It’s Conan, simple, pure, like the guy himself,” Conan O’Brien said in the YouTube video announcement. O’Brien joked in the video that he spent millions on legal and media research teams to come up with the name for his new show.

Conan O’Brien infamously walked away from NBC’s Tonight Show earlier this year after the network tried to bump him to a later time slot to move Jay Leno back to late night. O’Brien reportedly received a severance package of an estimated $45 million, but had to agree not to appear on television again until the fall.

Conan will premiere on TBS before Lopez Tonight on November 8.

>> Previously:  Dancing With the Stars Cast and Pairings Announced

DANCING WITH THE STARS season 11 cast (ABC)

Audrina Patridge & Tony Dovolani: We can’t help but wonder if Audrina might turn out to be the Kate Gosselin of this season of DWTS. Oh the horror!

Brandy & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: We love Maxim and we’ve got the feeling Brandy can shake it. So we’re very interested to see how this pairing is going to pan out.

David Hasselhoff & Kym Johnson: Kym, we’re sorry. Just, yeah, we’re sorry.

Florence Henderson & Corky Ballas: This is the Buzz Aldrin pairing for this year. You know Florence is probably not going to be the hottest dancer, but she’ll get the “awwwhhh isn’t the old person cute” votes.

Jennifer Grey & Derek Hough: You know we love this one! Bring on the Dirty Dancing Baby!

Kurt Warner & Anna Trebunskaya: Athletes often do well on DWTS, especially when paired with Anna, so this could be a good match.

Kyle Massey & Lacey Schwimmer: They’re young, cute and probably going to be darlings of the crowd.

Margaret Cho & Louis Van Amstel: We like the funny girls on DWTS, but we seriously doubt Cho’s ability to dance around anything but words.

Michael Bolton & Chelsie Hightower: We think Bolton has a deal with devil to continue looking like he does as his age. Maybe his deal includes dancing, we’ll have to wait and see.

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino & Karina Smirnoff: They’ve got the sex appeal (if you like that greasy, smarmy thing he has going), so they could be a hot couple on the dance floor. Or, if his attitude wins out, a complete wreck.

Rick Fox & Cheryl Burke: Interesting pairing, athletic and sexy. This could turn out to be a strong couple to watch.

Dancing With the Stars season 11 premieres Monday, September 20 on ABC.

>> Previously: Bristol Palin Joins Dancing With the Stars Cast

Bristol Palin

That’s right; it looks like Bristol Palin may be desperately clinging to her 15 minutes of fame on the new season of Dancing With the Stars. This is almost as bad a casting decision, in our opinion, as signing on Kate Gosselin last time around. Although, frankly, it’s difficult to believe anyone could suck as badly as Gosselin did.

Along with David Hasselhoff, The Situation and Bristol Pain, other rumored Dancing With the Stars cast members include Audrina Patridge and Brandy. While Kirstie Alley was also rumored to be signed on for the next season, E! Online says that bit of gossip is not true. As for ABC, a rep says the network does not comment on casting rumors.

The official Dancing With the Stars cast will be announced Monday, Aug. 30 on ABC during Bachelor Pad.

>> True Blood: Sookie Stackhouse is a What?

Alexander Skarsgard, who plays hot vampire Eric on True Blood, says he is especially comfortable with parading around naked. Skarsgard goes without the standard “sock” coverage when filming a nude scene for the show. “I don’t want a sock around it, that feels ridiculous. If we’re naked in the scene, then I’m naked. I’ve always been that way,” Skarsgard tells Rolling Stone.

True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer, on the other hand, keeps his goods under wrap on the set. Not because he has anything to hide, Moyer told Rolling Stone, but because he thinks “it might be embarrassing for the crew.”

Pick up the new issue of Rolling Stone featuring the stars of True Blood on newsstands now.

>> Previously: True Blood Star Anna Paquin Comes Out as Bisexual

Ragan and Britney on BIG BROTHER 12 (CBS)

On Big Brother last night, we saw the end of the Head of Household competition. When we left the Houseguests in the previous episode, they were struggling to untangle themselves from a giant spider web of rope. The contest wasn’t finished by the end of the live show and left fans waiting to know who would end up the winner.

For those who didn’t watch the rest of the competition on the Big Brother Live Feeds, it wasn’t long before it was obvious who was probably going to take the competition. Brendon got the upper hand and pretty much kept it. Half the other Houseguests didn’t even really seem to be trying. If you’ve been watching the Live Feeds, you already know why – especially in the case of Enzo and Hayden.

Brendon finally won the Head of Household competition hands down. He also received the right to name the three Have-Nots for the week and chose Britney, Ragan and Matt. Ragan and Britney both pretty much ended up in tears over this during the next few hours.

At the Nomination Ceremony later on the show, Brendon put up Ragan and Lane for elimination. Ragan is the Saboteur, so if he goes home, he’ll lose out on that $20,000 he’s been trying to earn by pranking the other Houseguests.

Matt has the Diamond Power of Veto, of course, so he could choose to shake things up – especially with fellow Brigade alliance member Lane on the block.

Then again, you just never know what kind of insanity is going to happen in the Big Brother house! If you’d like more details on last night’s episode, plus BIG spoilers about what has happened since, visit our friends over at BigBrotherAccess.com for more!

MILLIONAIRE MATCHMAKER Star Patti Stanger (Bravo)

Patti Stanger, 51, has spent her life finding love for others, as featured in her Bravo reality show Millionaire Matchmaker. It seems, however, the Stanger has run into a brick wall in her own love life!

Stanger announced via Twitter on Saturday that she has broken up with former fiancé Andy Friedman. The two met six years ago through another matchmaker. Friedman proposed to Stanger in Hawaii on her May 31 birthday last year.

“I just ended my relationship with Andy,” the Millionaire Matchmaker star posted on her Twitter feed Saturday. “It hit me really hard that I want kids in my life,” she said. “You have to agree on the non-negotiables.”

You would have thought the two would have gotten around to figuring out that whole “kids” thing a lot earlier in their relationship! Poor Patti, maybe she can go set up a nice cattle call for herself to scout out a new beau!

>> Previously:  JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater Reality Show?

JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater (MySpace)

Ex-JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater infamously quit his job after an alleged scuffle with a passenger by ranting about rude customers over the loudspeaker and exiting the plane dramatically via the emergency chute.

Slater has since become something of a folk hero for the working class over the stunt. Questions have been raised, however, about the alleged events leading up to his dramatic walk – or slide – off the job.

Stone & Company Entertainment has now reportedly offered Slater a gig hosting a show all about crazy ways people quit their jobs. We think that would actually be kind of fun to watch. God knows we’ve quit jobs in the past in extremely wacky ways!

If Slater’s version of what happened turns out to be “a big hoax,” as some have accused, he could find himself laid off from this new reality show gig pronto.

>> Previously:  JetBlue Flight Attendant Steve Slater a Hero for the Working Man?

Levi Johnston

Levi Johnston is apparently on a quest to get fame any way he can, no matter how embarrassing the vehicle. The infamous young man who knocked up Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol has already tried numerous ways to keep his 15 minutes of fame going. Including, of course, that ridiculous Playgirl photo spread and that disgusting pistachio nut commercial.

Now Levi Johnston will reportedly be starring in a new reality show featuring him trying to become mayor of his hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor’s Office, in production by Stone and Co., will document the unwed father’s attempt to run for political office and pathetic quest to be famous in his own right.

“[Levi Johnston] will give us a real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker and his journey down the road of small-town politics… right after he gets his high school diploma,” Stone and Co. said about the show.

Of course, Levi Johnston doesn’t even have that high school diploma yet and has absolutely no political experience at all. Apparently, banging the daughter of an almost vice-president is enough of a resume for Johnston.

Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin announced they had gotten back together and were engaged last month. Palin, however, allegedly called the whole thing off after seeing Johnston in a video mocking her family. We just wish Levi would give it up already. Some people are just not meant to be stars, especially people who get famous in the first place just for having unprotected sex.

>> Previously:  We Don’t Want Levi Johnston’s Nuts