HOT MAMA: Beyoncé, who just had her first child last month, is at the top of the list. (WENN.com)
Simon Cowell is offering Beyoncé Knowles $100 million a year — easily the highest salary on TV — to become a full-time judge on “The X Factor,” according to reports.
The money may seem outrageous, but the idea is not as far-fetched as it once may have seemed — now that the world’s No. 1 pop singer is a first-time mom.
Word is that Beyoncé would like to stop touring and stay in one place for the baby’s first few years. And a weekly TV job is the perfect way to get her off the road but keep her in the public eye.
Simon has begun to think that Mariah Carey — long rumored to be the first choice to take one of the two judges’ seats that opened this week — is no longer the hot ticket she once was, according the Web site Media TakeOut.com, which first published the story.
“He wants a big-name female star on the panel,” a source told the Web site. “Mariah [Carey] is good, but she’s not that hot today.
“He wants Beyoncé because that would immediately give him the bounce needed to beat ‘American Idol.’ ”
Beyoncé even has some history with “X Factor” and is familiar with the judge-versus-judge format.
Back in 2008, she appeared on the British version of the show as a mentor. In fact, the woman she coached, Alexandra Burke, went on to win the show that year.
Until this week, the outside world did not realize how disappointed Simon was with the inaugural season of “X Factor.”
With an average of 12 million viewers a week, it was a top-10 show — but didn’t draw near the 20 million viewers Simon had hoped for and was still far behind “Idol,” which averaged 18 million.
Still, by axing three main people on the show — judges Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones — this week, he signaled that the show is going to be rebuilt from the ground up by next fall’s premiere.
Beyoncé’s spokesman did not return e-mail requests for comment.
‘Idol’ slips further
The ratings for “American Idol” continue to slip this year.
The audition episode in rainy Portland Wednesday night was seen by about 18 million people — down 9 percent from last week and 34 percent from last year.
It has lost almost seven million viewers since 2011.
The series, now in its 11th season, remains the No. 1 entertainment show on TV. –Post Wire services