Abdul, Cowell getting along on 'X Factor,' for now

[May 28, 2011]  SINGAPORE (AP) -- Paula Abdul said Friday her reunion with Simon Cowell on his new talent show is going great, for now.

"We're still in the honeymoon phase, which will probably only last another minute," the 48-year-old Abdul told reporters in Singapore. "Simon and I ended up having a wonderful, exquisite, challenging and frightening relationship."

The two famously bickering former "American Idol" judges will be joining forces again to assess would-be singing stars on Fox's "The X Factor," which taped its first judging session earlier this month and will debut this fall in the U.S.

Abdul is looking to bounce back from "Live to Dance," a talent competition series she starred that premiered on CBS in January and was a ratings disappointment.

The tension and teasing between Cowell and Abdul helped make "Idol" one of the most popular television shows. She left the show in 2009 over a contract dispute after eight seasons.

"This little show is probably going to be ginormous if it's anything like what Simon is capable of doing," Abdul said.

The American pop singer and dancer is in Singapore to promote a Universal Studios theme park.

Abdul, who was the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers dance troupe in the 1980s, said watching the basketball team lose in the playoffs earlier this month "hurt like pouring Tabasco sauce in an open wound." But the L.A. native predicted a swift return to glory for the Lakers, who have won 10 championships since 1980.

"The Lakers organization is fantastic," she said. "I never give up on them, ever."

[Associated Press; By ALEX KENNEDY]

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