American Idol has been consistently losing viewers over the past few years, despite the continued coverage and hype the show receives in the media and gossip arenas. Over one year ago, we speculated that just as Britain's "Pop Idol" was eventually replaced with X-Factor, the same thing would happen here in the U.S. It appears as though our predictions were on target.

According to the UK's Daily Mirror, Cheryl Cole, has been tapped by Simon Cowell to take X-Factor across the pond. Cole is a member of Girls Aloud and the wife of footballer Ashley Cole, and became an X-Factor judge in 2008.

Senior execs from NBC are scheduled to fly to Manchester this weekend to see her in action at the live auditions.

A source told the Mirror:

"Simon is on the brink of signing a deal to take The X Factor to America and, if he gets his way, Cheryl will be its star.

He thinks she has amazing presence and her down-to-earth Northern charm will appeal to the American public. She is also an incredibly beautiful girl.

She won’t get paid anything like the million pound salary she’s on here, because obviously she is not as well known in the States.

But if it is a success, like most of Simon’s shows are, it could catapult her into the big league.”

So why would Simon pass on the opportunity to be the star of X-Factor in America? Because he is tied into a deal with rival network Fox for American Idol, Cowell can't appear on X-Factor, although being his baby, he still stands to make a fortune off it if it is as big of a hit over here as it is over there.

While the deal isn't yet official or finalized, it looks like X-Factor is in fact coming to the U.S. Whether or not it will retain the "X-Factor" name remains to be seen, however the premise will be the same. The writing was on the wall when Simon introduced his UK X-Factor winner Leona Lewis to U.S. audiences, where she has since become a massive hit.