With La Reid leaving the x factor right after this season finishes, rumours have been flying about the fate of the show after his departure.

The producer and head of Epic Records has announced that he will leave the judging panel in order to take care of his responsibilities to the label and the artists he manages and not because of any kind of conflict with Simon Cowell. Reid’s particular brand of judging prowess will be hard to replace, as he brought not only his presence to the show, but also considerable expertise as an industry insider. Nonetheless, this leaves an empty spot on the judging panel for Cowell to fill and quickly. The ratings for the X Factor have been falling, and it is clear by this point that some sort of revamp is needed for the show to stay on air.

Cowell knows this too and it was recently reported by The Sun that the producer intends to reach out to Rihanna to be on next season’s panel. Considering Rihanna’s star status, as well as her knowledge of the music industry, both performace and production-wise it is certainly true that the singer’s charisma and energy would be a huge boost for the show. However, everyone can only speculate at this point whether the Caribbean singer will accept the offer. Furthermore, Cowell will reportedly offer Rihanna a choice between the US and UK editions of the show to make the offer more appealing to the hugely successful singer. This means that, even if Rihanna does accept the offer, this doesn’t necessarily mean that she will be replacing LA Reid next season. Looks like the fate of the X Factor will remain unclear for a while.