Paula Abdul is rumoured to be leaving American Idol to launch her own Las Vegas stage show.

The choreographer is said to think that the time is right to leave the US talent show so she can work on the live show which has a Cirque-Du Soleil/cheerleader theme.

“She’s secretly putting together an exit strategy. No one knows whether Paula will be back for another season of Idol after this one, but she’s preparing for the future and she sees her future in Las Vegas,” a source told the National Enquirer.

“It will be very state-of-the-art with a number of stage props, such as water, lighting, and pyrotechnics.”