Simon Cowell, Khloe Kardashian | featured news

Mario Lopez will be back, but Khloe Kardashian won't. The Extra host will return for a second season as host of Fox's The X Factor, this time without last year's co-host Kardashian. It will mark the third hosting configuration in three seasons for Simon Cowell's singing competition. Steve Jones hosted Season 1.

All signs are pointing to Khloe Kardashian as the new host of The X Factor, newly made-over by creator Simon Cowell with Britney Spears and Demi Lovato at the judges' table. So says TMZ, which reported Friday that Kardashian -- known as the funny one among her reality-famous siblings -- is the frontrunner to get the gig following a successful screen test. If Cowell, who apparently considers her a magnet for young viewers along with Spears and Lovato, hires the E! star for his Fox talent competition, then she would basicaly have to start right away. The second-season reboot of X Factor premieres Sept. 12 and 13.