X-Factor

Khloe Kardashian may be doing her part to jump start the economy ... because TMZ has learned she's the front-runner to become the "X Factor" host and we're told the suits want it to happen.

Sources intimately connected to the show tell TMZ ... Khloe is definitely #1 among the women who tried out and is generally considered the best in the entire pack of host wannabes.

Khloe did a screen test that went over well. The suits -- including Simon Cowell (who has probably never worn a suit) -- believe Khloe makes the most sense in terms of audience draw, since they've already invested heavily in Britney Spears and Demi Lovato to attract young viewers.

Producers will make a decision soon. The host won't appear until the live shows air, and that begins next month.

Britney Spears tried to back out of her $15 million "X Factor" deal on the VERY FIRST day of production ... after experiencing a panic attack on the set ... this according to Simon Cowell.

The "X Factor" creator just phoned in to "TMZ Live" ... and told us his people "half-lied" to the media back in May when they said Britney only walked off the set because she had to go to the bathroom.

"No one is going to admit that on the first day your highest paid star after 20 minutes has walked off set," Cowell told us.

So what really happened? Cowell admits Britney "had a moment on the first day where she said to me 'I'm not sure I can do this.'"

Of course, Cowell says he talked Brit back into the gig ... and now she's not only loving it, but she's developed into a kick-ass judge.

Cowell also blasted his rivals at "The Voice" ... claiming "Voice" honcho Mark Burnett was full of crap when he told TMZ he had no idea NBC moved his show to Wednesday night, where it will go head-to-head with "X Factor."

Mark Burnett -- the mastermind behind "The Voice" -- says Simon Cowell is delusional to think Mark is going head-to-head with the premiere of "X Factor" to steal Britney Spears' thunder.

Burnett tells TMZ ... he didn't even know NBC added "The Voice" to next Wednesday's schedule until we called to tell him. Burnett said, "There was never ever a meeting or a discussion of what my show was up against. The fact is ... it shows you where our minds are at and where others are because it literally never crossed my mind."

Burnett -- who also created "Survivor" -- tells us, "This is someone trying to read into something that doesn't exist."

Simon claims the folks responsible for "The Voice" have heard how good Britney Spears and Demi Lovato are ... so they're trying to keep the audience away from "X Factor."

Simon Cowell is furious at NBC for trying to sandbag next week's premiere of "X Factor" by adding a Wednesday installment of "The Voice" ... declaring, "This is a cynical, cold-hearted, unprofessional way of doing business."

Simon tells TMZ, he thought he had a "gentleman's agreement" with NBC ... that "The Voice" would run Mondays and Tuesdays, and "X Factor" would run Wednesdays and Thursdays on FOX ... so fans could watch both.

Simon says NBC is turning on its own audience, forcing them to choose between Christina Aguilera's show and Britney Spears' new show. And speaking of them, Simon says, "Britney's not going to appreciate the fact that Christina -- who has been a bit of a rival -- isn't allowing Britney to have a night of her own."

Simon tells TMZ, he believes the move is as personal as it gets, because "The Voice" came to England and went head-to-head with Simon's show, "Britain's Got Talent" and got its ass kicked.

Simon says, "These guys have really got it in for us. It's nothing short of dirty tricks."

Cowell adds, "The reason they've done this is they don't want people to see 'X Factor' because they've heard how good the series is. They don't want their audience to see Britney Spears. They don't want their audience to see Demi Lovato."

Simon says he doesn't think Britney knows yet, but when she finds out "She's going to be devastated because she's put her heart and soul into this."

NBC and "The Voice" are making a ballsy move to put an end to "X Factor" -- the network just pulled a last minute sneak attack ... rearranging its programming schedule next week, so "The Voice" goes head-to-head with its main competition.

NBC just announced it would be adding a third episode to next week's line-up, scheduled to air Wednesday night -- at the exact same time "X Factor" is scheduled to premiere.

The first two episodes of "The Voice" will air Monday and Tuesday nights.

NBC had previously scheduled "America's Got Talent" for the Wednesday prime time spot, but the network must be feeling confident in the new season of "The Voice" ... so it made a quick swap.

In case you didn't know, tensions between the two shows have been running pretty high -- "X Factor" creator Simon Cowell recently directed a couple "X Factor" rejects to audition for "The Voice." Burn.

Watch out Justin Bieber -- Marc Anthony took a cue from your playbook and just signed up to be the next celebrity mentor on "X Factor" ... LET THE BATTLE BEGIN.

Sources close to Marc tell us ... he recently inked a deal with the FOX talent show to join the cast as a mentor for Simon Cowell's group of music hopefuls ... the pair has been friends for years.

If you recall, Bieber also signed on to be a celeb mentor -- there will be 4 in total, one for each judge -- lending his (ahem) years of knowledge to L.A. Reid's squad.

So here's how they match up ... JB has sold 15 million albums to Marc's paltry 12 million ... Marc has two Grammy awards compared to Justin's zero ... BUT -- they've both dated hot Latin chicks.

Simon Cowell has a new enemy ... Justin Bieber -- 'cause the pop star has teamed up with rival "X Factor" judge L.A. Reid to become a celebrity mentor on the upcoming season of the show.

TMZ has learned ... Bieber agreed to be one of 4 celebrity mentors assigned to one of the 4 judges ... Simon, L.A., Britney Spears and Demi Lovato.

Bieber agreed to help out L.A.'s squad ... and yesterday, Justin went to a home in the Hollywood Hills to dish out some quality advice to the contestants.

Khloe Kardashian is being seriously considered to become the next host of "X Factor" ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with the show tell us ... they have whittled down the list of finalists to 6, and Khloe is on it.

Not a bad move for the show, because the Kardashians are a proven audience draw.

You know you're rich when ... you spend $500,000 to upgrade 160 "X Factor" contestants to a "nicer" hotel simply because you felt like it -- like Simon Cowell just did.

It all went down in Miami ... where the 160 wannabes who made it past the audition rounds are competing for 32 coveted spots.

Sources tell us ... Cowell -- who created the show -- decided he wanted to reward the contestants for making it this far ... and didn't want them slumming in a "regular" hotel.

So he upgraded ALL of the contestants to the exclusive Mondrian Miami South Beach Hotel ... and promised to cover everyone's meals during the audition process.

Just a day or so before being named the newest "American Idol" judge, Mariah Carey was hanging out with some of her biggest competition ... "X Factor" judge L.A. Reid.

Mimi and L.A. were spotted cruising around the Hamptons together this weekend and sources tell us he was key in convincing her to take the "Idol" gig.

Although they are now on rival TV shows, the music heavyweights go way back as Reid used to be the CEO of Mariah's record label.

Vanilla Ice says it's "amazing" that Britney Spears is a fan of "Ice, Ice Baby" ... and tells us the footage of Brit jamming out to the song at a recent "X Factor" audition is nothing less than a "classic moment."

"I love it" ... Ice said ... adding, "Simon Cowell giving her a high five? That is AWESOME!"

We posted the footage earlier this week ... Britney got out of her seat at the judge's table to dance and sing along with the lyrics while a contestant performed the 1990 classic during an audition in North Carolina.

Vanilla tells us he's glad his song is still "kicking ass" ... insisting the jam has a "magical connection" to people in their 20s and 30s.

Demi Lovato took a page out of Simon Cowell's playbook ... kicking a pair of 'X Factor' contestants off stage today for rapping about smoking bath salts ... TMZ has learned.

Sources on set for 'XF' auditions in Greensboro, NC ... tell us the two guys laid down a rap that included the line, "I'm high on bath salts."

Apparently most of the crowd didn't hear the lyrics, but Demi did -- and as soon as the duo finished she furiously scolded them, saying ... "It's really inappropriate to rap about drugs in front of kids."

Demi did a stint in rehab in 2011, and has admitted to using drugs and booze when she was underage -- so, it's no wonder she went off on the clowns.

We're told the audience agreed with Demi, and booed the contestants off stage ... and they were not judged for the competition.

It was almost like Britney Spears' brain was killed by a poisonous mushroom at the "X Factor" auditions in North Carolina ... 'cause she went CRAZY for a Vanilla Ice wannabe who busted out "Ice Ice Baby" ... and it was all caught on tape.

It all went down BEFORE that crazy lightning storm in Greensboro ... Britney was so moved by some guy's rendition of the '90s rap ... she actually got out of her seat and started shakin' her ass with the music.

Simon, L.A. and Demi weren't feelin' it as much. They just don't understand.

There was electricity in the air at the "X Factor" auditions in Greensboro, NC today ... because the production truck was struck by lightning ... TMZ has learned.

Sources at the scene tell us ... a major storm rolled in over the Greensboro Coliseum Complex this afternoon ... and knocked out power to the complex.

We're told the lights in the arena went out during the auditions. The mics also went dead.

Sources say some of the judges -- including Britney Spears and Demi Lovato -- were freaked out because of the thunder ... and are now hiding out in their dressing rooms.

Police were ALL OVER Simon Cowell this morning in Rhode Island -- providing a 4-cop escort just for the "X Factor" judge on his way to auditions ... while he rode on a dinky little scooter.

Simon usually gets a police escort when he's driven around for "X Factor" stuff, but he's typically holed up safely in a fancy car. The tiny scooter's a first.

Luckily, Simon didn't have to drive far -- the Dunkin' Donuts center (where auditions are being held) is only 4 blocks away from his hotel.

Despite being one of the biggest celebrities in the world, Britney Spears still managed to enjoy a simple family day at the beach with her boys and her conservator/fiance Jason Trawick this weekend.

With no "X Factor" contestants to judge, Brit played in the sand and took pics of her adorable sons Sean Preston and Jayden James in Malibu on Saturday.