Is Simon Cowell quitting American Idol?

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Simon Cowell is TV's busiest man: in addition to his American Idol duties, he also sits on the judging panel of British reality shows The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. But can he handle his heavy workload for much longer?

"There is a point where I am not sure we can keep this schedule up," he confessed to English rag the Mirror. "It takes longer and longer to make these shows because you have to put more into them, and I am not sure we can sustain me doing three shows a year."

Cowell threatened that he may walk away from one of his TV series... and that he's most likely to quit American Idol.

"I don't know which one. That is the problem, I like all of them," he said. "I can't imagine not doing Britain's Got Talent and I can't imagine not doing X Factor. But I guess America is more likely to go because I have got one [more] year under contract. Maybe that will be the end."

But he stressed that he's yet to make any final decisions about quitting any of his shows.

Cowell also hinted that he's hoping to launch another "big new show" in 2010.

"But can I tell you what it is?" he said. "Absolutely not."

American president on American Idol?

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It seems like everyone on the small screen wants to get their hands on President Barack Obama: he recently dropped by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Simpsons producers are trying to convince him to be a guest star, and even Simon Cowell wants him for American Idol.

"We're trying to get him to do a show at the moment," Cowell confirmed to Absolute Radio, saying that he wanted to get Obama on Idol after the president referenced him while chatting to Leno.

"He was on The Tonight Show talking about how everyone in Washington is a critic and then he said: 'Unfortunately they're all like Simon Cowell'," Cowell said. "I'm not sure if it's a compliment or not."

If Obama does appear on American Idol, it would cap off what Cowell describes as "one of [his] favourite series"of the show in years.

But if Obama decides to give the show a miss, there's plenty of other guest stars in the pipeline. Jennifer Hudson, who shot to fame after appearing on American Idol's third season, is planning on returning to the hit reality series.

According to the New York Post, she will shoot an "intimate performance" for Idol's studio audience that will go to air in coming weeks.

Simon Cowell Splits with Girlfriend

By Pete Norman and Courtney Rubin
Photo by: MICHAEL WILLIAMS / LFI

Simon Cowell and longtime girlfriend Terri Seymour have split, Cowell's rep confirms to PEOPLE.

"Terri phoned Simon and finished it in September, about six weeks ago," says Cowell's rep, Max Clifford. "They are going to remain close friends. Simon thinks the world of Terri and that isn't going to change. He also understands her reason for ending it."

The couple were together for six years. Seymour, 34, first met Cowell, 48, when she was 18, but the couple didn't begin dating until she interviewed him for a show in 2002.

"In the past Terri has said that she wants kids but that just isn't Simon," added Clifford. "Nobody else is involved, certainly not on Simon's side."

The split was first reported by the UK's Daily Mirror.

people.com