Simon Cowell Quits American Idol

Today Simon Cowell confirmed that he will leave American Idol at the end of the coming season.

Simon Cowell, the music impresario and tough-talking “American Idol” judge you love to hate, will leave “American Idol,” the Fox reality competition, after the current season, he said on Monday. Mr. Cowell made the announcement during a Fox presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour in California. Though there had been speculation about Mr. Cowell’s status with the show for several weeks, he said that he had only formally reached an agreement with Fox “at half-past-10″ this morning to bring another reality series, “The X Factor,” to the network next year. Mr. Cowell said he would leave “American Idol” to focus on that show.

No word yet on his possible replacement.