Britney-Spears-Trial-Lufti-Breaks-DownAlas, poor Britney Spears was not long for reality TV.

Reports are out that she’s quitting “The X Factor” after just one season, joining L.A. Reid in a 50 percent makeover of the judges panel in as many years for the Simon Cowell import.

As a judge she wasn’t the most incisive or articulate the show has ever seen. One longtime reporter on the show told me yesterday she said the word “amazing” 38 1/2 times on one episode alone (the half was for the word “amazed”). On the other hand, her facial expressions couldn’t lie, hilariously making faces for fear, annoyance or craziness to reflect what she really thought about what she was hearing.

As a mentor, she didn’t do badly, bringing one of her acts into the final two, which is more than Cowell could say. And she never reached the depth of cluelessness of the first season’s Nicole Scherzinger, who often failed to do what she was hired to do: Make a simple decision.

Some reports said Britney said she didn’t think she’d be brought back, but just this week here at the TV Critics winter press tour, Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said he would have re-upped the singer.

“I actually thought it went very, very well,” Reilly said of Britney’s tenure. “I mean, it was fraught with unknowns, and I think Britney did a really good job. She came on, people remain fascinated with her and always will be. She’s just an interesting figure who’s lived a unique life, and I thought she brought some of that. And people got to know her a little bit.

“Maybe some people were waiting for more drastic displays of some nature that never came, so for those expecting that, it didn’t happen,” he said. “But I thought ‘The X Factor’ was excellent this year. Last year, the ratings were a little bit higher, but I think it was a better show this year. The talent was good. The production was good. I think some of the new elements that were added were good. And she tucked in really nicely on that bench.”

At the time, Reilly didn’t have details on what was to come, partly because Cowell has been on vacation. “He was exhausted. He hasn’t even talked about any of this going forward.”

In a way, the exit shines a light on the problem of making big marquee names the judges on singing competitions. When “American Idol” began, Cowell and Randy Jackson were unknowns and Paula Abdul a sort of hasbeen singer who hadn’t been on TV or hadn’t had a hit in a long time. The spotlight then was on the talent, whose names are still remembered by the public. Now, the spotlight is on the judges, who arrive to their chairs in big fanfare and viewers can’t even remember the names of winners from year to year.
It also means that any superstar with a career has to decline from taking part for more than a year or two. Last year, both Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler left “American Idol,” to be replaced in the new season next week by Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban. On NBC, the success of “The Voice” was credited to its superstar panel of judges and recording artists, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton. Because Aguilera and Green will be taking off the spring to do music, they will be replaced by Shakira and Usher for the season that begins in March.