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Britney Spears’ Potential ‘X Factor’ Exit: How Much Would It Hurt? – The May announcement that Spears and Lovato would be replacing Season 1 judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger breathed new life into a franchise that was translated with high expectations from its incredibly successful U.K. counterpart. After the British “X Factor” generated hitmakers like One Direction, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs beginning in 2007, Cowell expressed the desire to see the stateside “X Factor” surpass the ratings of his previous Fox smash, “American Idol,” and rule the reality ratings roost upon Season 1′s September 2011 debut. That didn’t happen. 12 million viewers watched Season 1 each week according to Nielsen, compared to 15.8 million weekly viewers for NBC’s “The Voice.” And Season 1 winner Melanie Amaro, whose debut album will not make its way onto shelves by the end of 2012 as initially expected, has thus far been unable to establish herself as an organic star like recent “Idol” champs Scotty McCreery and Phillip Phillips. – Read more at Billboard.com

The Voice’s Terry McDermott on Major-Label Past, Journey Covers and Paul McCartney’s Approval – Glint in their eyes notwithstanding, Terry McDermott says he and his mentor Blake Shelton never had a “devious master plan” for choosing songs to cover during his tenure on NBC’s The Voice. “We tried not to overthink it,” says the man who would eventually become the Season 3 runner-up. “We just tried to be faithful to my artistry and to the people who were supporting me through the show. I didn’t want to have them all excited about classic rock of the ’70s and ’80s, and then suddenly change it up so much that I disappointed them.” TVLine caught up with McDermott to talk about his ups and downs in the music business, his approach to a number of song arrangements during the season, and a special honor he got from no less a legend than Paul McCartney. – Read more at TV Line

Wouldn’t Michael Jackson’s estate be responsible for clearing “Let it Be” rather than Paul McCartney? Plus, as others pointed out, it’s been sung on singing competition before. Confuzzled. Plus, the team’s strategy to keep Terry singing songs from the past may have kept him in the competition, but it’s not going to help him sell records post-show.

Go Backstage With CMTT at the American Country Awards

Carrie Underwood, Lauren Alaina are interviewed./ Plus, Keith Urban talks Idol at 9:30 mark.

Kellie Pickler, ‘Rockaway (The Rockin’ Chair Song)’ – Story Behind the Lyrics – “Our first date was at Cracker Barrel, and they have all of the rocking chairs lined up out front that you can purchase or just sit there and wait for your name to be called to go in and eat,” Kellie tells The Boot. “We sat out there in those rocking chairs for Lord knows how long, and played twenty questions and got to know each other. We talked and talked, and fell in love with one another in those chairs outside of Cracker Barrel. “Then for my birthday, he went to Cracker Barrel and bought two rocking chairs and carved our names in them,” she continues with a smile. “They’re on our front porch, and that’s where we like to go sit and try to solve all of the world’s problems! So, ‘Rockaway’ is about those chairs.” – Read more at The Boot

Britney Spears Court Case Involving Kevin Federline’s Brother Exposed as a Hoax – Britney Spears is not going to court — but she is the latest victim of an infamous hoaxer. On Wednesday, Dec. 26, Us Weekly obtained papers reportedly filed by the singer’s former brother-in-law, Christopher Federline, in which the plaintiff claimed that he, not Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline, was the “true father” of the couple’s oldest son, Sean Preston. But sources told Us the documents appear to have been doctored. – Read more at US Magazine

It’s the first ‘Rockin’ Eve’ with just Ryan Seacrest – “It’s definitely a mixed emotion. As a kid, I knew New Year’s Eve by watching Dick Clark. As an adult, I know New Year’s Eve recently by working with Dick Clark. I’ve never done the ABC show without him,” he says.”It’s emotional, it’s reflective, and, at the same time, it’s celebratory, because he was such a leader and pioneer and mentor. It will be unique in so many ways, and frankly, I don’t know what to expect in that first second when I sign on.” Anne Sweeney, president of Disney/ABC Television Group, says Seacrest is the perfect choice to carry on Clark’s four-decade tradition. – Read more at USA Today

2012 Breakout Stars: Melissa Benoist Pulls Back the Glee Curtain – Before Glee’s fourth season started, everyone was focused on what was to become of Rachel (Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith), Kurt (Chris Colfer) and the rest of the McKinley gang. But we (almost) forgot about all of that the first time we laid eyes (and ears) on Melissa Benoist’s character Marley. And that is why she is one of our Breakout Stars of 2012. She proved to be a refreshing and talented addition to Glee, and while we adore the New York storylines, we don’t mind staying at McKinley to see what happens with Marley. We hopped on the phone with Benoist to talk about her big Glee debut, Michael Fassbender mania and what those long hours on set are really like. – Read more at EOnline

Another ratings disaster for Simon Cowell as his ‘X Factor for dogs’ only gets 3.7million viewers – Following Ashleigh and Pudsey’s win on Britain’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell was hoping the British public had a taste of dancing dogs. However, his ‘X Factor for dogs’ show That Dog Can Dance failed to attracted big ratings for ITV1 on Boxing Day. The show, which featured Sharon Osbourne, Bill Bailey and Ashleigh and Pudsey, only attracted 3.7million during its 8pm one-hour slot. During the second half of same slot, EastEnders managed to pull in an average of 8.2million as viewers tuned in to see the fall-out of Derek Branning’s death. – Read more at Daily Mail