Simon Cowell has said that he would love to have Britney Spears on the 2009 series of American Idol. I can only surmise that he wants her for all the free publicity it will generate, because it certainly couldn’t be for her talent!

“I would love to see her mentor the contestants,” he said in a conference call to reporters.

“If she doesn’t want to do that, but wants to perform on the show – I would welcome that at any time,” Simon admitted.

“She would, literally, be first on the list, as far as I’m concerned in any capacity. (She) was a riot. I loved it.

“The buzz we had on our show (The X Factor) was extraordinary. And even with all that stuff that’s gone on with her the past two years, there was more excitement and interest in her than I’ve seen in anyone in years. She would be very, very welcome.”

Simon would also love to see Sir Paul McCartney and Beyonce on this years series.

“We try every year to get Paul McCartney on and, for whatever reason, he won’t come on,” he revealed.

Take That singer, Mark Owen has said that troubled star Britney Spears was ill advised to appear on this year’s X Factor series.

The star came under a heap of criticism after she obviously mimed her performance and didn’t seem to know where she was or who she was supposed to be watching.

“I think she was ill-advised to appear on The X Factor,” Mark told Heat magazine. “They don’t have the show in the US, do they? I thought it seemed like she wasn’t sure where she was.”

Mark also talked about his own time mentoring the contestants this year and discussed his and Gary Barlow’s ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine.

“I was the good cop!” he said. “I honestly though they were all really good. I had my own favourite, but no, I’m not going to [say] who it was!”

X Factor choreographer Brian Friedman has defended his old pal Britney Spears against critics of her performance on the show last week.

Britney has been widely criticised for miming on last Saturday’s X Factor, for failing to mentor the contestants or even watch their performances backstage.

Brian told MSN:

"Everyone was really upset with Britney for miming. It’s not the first time that’s happened, so I don’t know why anyone would be surprised about that.

"Pop stars mime, that’s what they do. They dance and they mime, so I’m not really bothered about that you know."

Take That frontman, Gary Barlow has slammed Britney Spears for her awful performance on Saturday night’s X factor.

Gary told The Mirror: “I don’t see the point of Britney anymore, she was rubbish on the show. I think she’s more famous than she deserves to be now.”

“Why come on a show like that and mime? I don’t like her new song either. Her old stuff was great but maybe she should have spent more time on this one.”

X Factor judge, Simon Cowell has joked that Britney Spears was in awe of him on Saturday night, well that would explain her nervous performance then!

The Mirror reported the 49-year-old saying: "This may be a bit egotistical," before confessing: "I think she was in awe of me."

He added: "She was just staring at me. I said, ‘Touch me, I’m human,’ and I think that broke the ice."

Strange he said that, considering reports saying that Simon couldn’t even get into her dressing room before the show started.

X Factor judge, Simon Cowell is said to have been banned from his own dressing room which he loaned to Britney Spears on Saturday night.

Britney refused to use a Winnebago like other stars  have done in recent weeks, so Simon offered her the use of his dressing room. However when he went to try and have a word before the show he was kept out by a bunch of Britney’s heavies.

It is also said that show insiders were shocked when Britney didn’t even watch the X Factor contestants performances despite there being a TV set in her room.

An insider told The Sun: "You have never seen so many heavies. Even around the judges’ dressing rooms was sealed off by Britney’s security people. When the judges went to meet her, her security wouldn’t let anyone past.

"Everyone was stunned she admitted that she hadn’t watched the show. There’s a TV in the dressing room."

When Cowell and Spears did meet, she was said to be "pretty vacant".

So, everybody, what’d you make of Britney Spears’ performance on X Factor? I reckon she was outclassed by Miley Cyrus to be honest.

Don’t get me wrong, she looked hella sexy. But it was like watching a performance with the fast forward button turned on. She buzzed about the stage with her posse of clowns like she was trying to do a 3 minute tour of the studio and then get the hell out of there again.

I was trying to draw a few comparisons to her VMAs appearance last year. It wasn’t confidence this year, but the dance routine was pants, other than her skittering around the stage at lightning speed. I’m sure the cleaning crew are regretting not strapping a couple of cloths to her feet to polish the stage.

The best bit was when Dermot tried to interview her onstage:

Dermott: You’ve been watching from the sidelines tonight. Do you have a message for our contestants?

Britney [though gleaming teeth]: Yeah. Keep on doing it.

She never looked more like a fembot than she did in that moment. Preprogrammed response, not particularly relevant to the question. She might as well have said “Dermot, I honestly don’t give a toss.”

But didn’t she look good everybody? Despite the slightly frantic performance, I hope she’s as healed on the inside as she is on the outside.

Update: James Corden on Xtra Factor reminded me that Britney was miming – ooops I forgot to mention that. But he also said that “she came on here and gave a half-arsed performance, then drove off for a midnight appearance at Heaven.” Brilliant. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Britney Spears is said to be on a crash diet in a bid to lose weight for her X Factor appearance this Saturday.

Britney has already lost two stone in recent months but wants to lose even more in advance of this weeks UK comeback.

A source told the Daily Star: “She goes to bed hungry and is dieting so hard she’s suffering from insomnia, anxiety, flushes and shakes.

“Her father and the people around her are trying to get her to eat more, but Britney is determined not to be criticised for having any extra bulk.”

Britney Spears is all set for a massive circus themed performance on this weeks X Factor show according to show choreographer Brian Friedman.

Brian told The Sun: “She is going to be doing a massive performance. You know her album is called Circus, so we’re going to be seeing a circus vibe coming in.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were elephants because this is The X Factor – and we go big here!”

Brian used to be friends with Britney and has choreographed her in the past added:”She is such a sweet, endearing person. It will be nice to reconnect.

“Last year, I asked her to come and do X Factor but she was too hectic. This year it’s happening. I’m so glad to see her back on track. Her performance is going to be incredible.

“She has gone from the Princess of Pop to the new Queen of Pop. Now she is claiming her thone.”

American pop princess, Britney Spears is all set to appear on X Factor next month according to the shows choreographer, Brian Friedman.

Spears is hoping to relaunch her career in the UK by performing her new single ‘Womanizer’ on the hit ITV TV show.

‘Britney is at her best ever and it’ll be the raunchiest performance X Factor has seen,’ said the show’s choreographer Brian Friedman to the Daily Mirror.

‘She’s back on top of her game.’