LOS ANGELES - Simon Cowell says he made a good faith effort to keep Cheryl Cole on either the U.S. or U.K. versions of "The X Factor."
Cole is being replaced as a judge on Fox TV's upcoming version of the singing contest by another British pop star, Nicole Scherzinger, it was announced Monday.
In a phone interview from London, Cowell denied reports that Cole lacked chemistry with the other U.S. "X Factor" judges, which include Paula Abdul and Antonio "L.A." Reid.
He says he believes Cole missed family and friends back in England and didn't seem herself during filming of the Fox show debuting this fall.
Cowell says efforts to negotiate her return to the British version of "The X Factor" were derailed by media leaks.
