Exclusive: Britney Spears Enlists will.i.am as X Factor Mentor
Will.i.am, Britney Spears
The pop princess is about to get some help from a Black Eyed Pea! Sources confirm to TV Guide Magazine that singer and record producer will.i.am will join new X Factor judge Britney Spears as a mentor for her crop of contestants during the Judge's Home round on the upcoming second season of Fox's reality singing competition. Spears and will.i.am recently collaborated on a track entitled "Sexy Sexy" for his new solo album #willpower, due out Oct. 15.
will.i.am is no stranger to reality competition shows, having participated as a coach on The Voice U.K. last spring. He also manages former X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, who was replaced by Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger early in the show's first season.
The will.i.am/Spears pairing joins previously announced mentor/judge duos Nick Jonas (with Demi Lovato), Justin Beiber (L.A. Reid) and Marc Anthony (Simon Cowell). Fox has yet to confirm how the contestants will be split amongst the four judges, but it is rumored that Lovato will coach kids ages 12-16, Spears will oversee singers ages 17-24, Reid will guide vocalists 25 and older, and Cowell will be left to tackle the groups.
The X Factor's two-hour season premiere airs tonight at 8/7c on Fox.