Simon Cowell is once again dropping hints about a reunion with Paula Abdul.
Appearing on Monday’s "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Cowell admitted that he still pines for his former "Idol" colleague — and predicts they’ll eventually be reunited.
“I talk to her all the time. I miss Paula," Cowell told Leno. "She was great fun and it is a different show without her. But you know, something will happen with me and her at some point.”
Cue the theme to "The X-Factor."
Actually, it doesn’t seem as if Leno specifically asked Cowell about the rumor that Abdul may be joining him as a judge on "The X-Factor," which debuts on Fox in 2011.
UPDATE: A "Tonight" rep confirms that Leno did, in fact, ask Cowell point blank about Abdul on "X."
His response: "I don’t know yet, but I will definitely be doing something with her."
Cowell’s "something will happen" tease will no doubt be enough for the "Idol" blogerrati to feast on for days, if not longer.
On another tabloid fave — the notion that Cowell and new judge Ellen DeGeneres are somehow at war with each other — Cowell decided to have some fun with the rumors.
“Well I thought we were getting on fine, and then she moved to the other side of the table," Cowell quipped. “There’s a lot of stuff being written about it, (but) we get on fine. We don’t see each other before the show. We do the show — (and) sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree.
"But I did take it quite personally when she moved away from me, yes," Cowell added, making one more comedic attempt to stoke the fire. "No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”
Cowell added that he’s "having a good time" in his final season on "Idol," and joked (again) that he’s encouraged producers to "find the worse possible person" to replace him.
"Because you don’t want to leave and have the show successful after you leave," Cowell said, perhaps only half-jokingly.
Finally, Cowell also copped to the fact that Crystal Bowersox is one of his early favorites this season.
"I must admit when I first saw her, you know, I described her as a busker and I liked the way she handled that," he said. "She kind of admitted that’s what she was. But she’s got some confidence now. She was ill, she got over that. She’s got a great voice. She’s different, I like her.”
