There was apparently no amount of money that could have persuaded Simon Cowell to remain on American Idol's judging panel.

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"The American Idol people were desperate for Simon to stay," a show insider told Life & Style magazine in a Thursday report. "They told him to name his price, but he still walked away."

Earlier this month, Cowell inked a deal with Fox that will end his American Idol judging role while also launching his British The X Factor reality competition series for the network in Fall 2011.

"Simon hopes to blow American Idol out of the water with The X Factor," the insider told Life & Style.

Cowell has suggested that host Ryan Seacrest should pull double duty, which a show insider told E! News was "in play." In addition, Elton John was a rumored replacement, however his representative subsequently denied it.

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Actor/singer Jamie Foxx and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine are currently "strong contenders" for Cowell's position, the insider told Life & Style.

While Fox has remained mum on a possible replacement, American Idol creator Simon Fuller recently stated he's received numerous calls and that "everyone's interested" in Cowell's soon-to-be-former position.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.