America's Got... No Brandy

NBC is "declining comment," but insiders tell TV Guide that Brandy will not be returning to the judges' table for Season 2 of America's Got Talent. A month ago, exec producer Ken Warwick hinted strongly that Jerry Springer — Regis Philbin's successor as host — would not be the only talent change for the new season, and suggested that Brandy wasn't strong enough a presence to sit between the emotional David Hasselhoff and the acerbic Piers Morgan. "[Hasselhoff's] heart, his passion, is something I really think we need," he said, "and Piers is really quite cynical. Brandy just keeps the pair of them apart." Warwick added that Brandy's legal problems (stemming from her involvement in a fatal car accident) would have nothing to do with his decision, saying, "Everybody in Hollywood's got problems, so I wouldn't dream of making a decision based on that." — Reporting by Deborah Starr Seibel