Ugh, poor Cheryl Cole. It feels weird to feel such sympathy for a woman who by most accounts is just some talentless pop star and famewhore, but here I go again. Anyway, as you might remember, Cheryl was really trying to “happen” in America and Simon Cowell had given her a place at the judges’ table on the new American version of The X Factor. Cheryl has been a judge on the British version for a while, and that gig has made her very famous and very rich and beloved by many British girls (and boys). Then, a few weeks ago, Cheryl was dumped from the show. The reasons given were stuff like “her accent is too much for Americans” and “Paula Abdul hates her.” Cheryl flew back to England, rejected an offer to come back to The X Factor UK, and was said to be distraught and “in hiding.” Now, however, things seem to be looking up? She might be coming back to America:

Sources at “X Factor” tell TMZ … FOX and Fremantle (the producers of the show) are trying to get Cheryl Cole back on the program, a week after giving her her walking papers … but it’s more about the bottom line than about loving Cheryl.

Our sources say when producers told Cheryl she wasnt right for the U.S. version of “X Factor,” they tried to put her on the UK version of the show. Cheryl’s managers wanted £2.5 million and producers thought it was too much, so the deal went south.

We’re told Cheryl was due to get paid around $1.5 million for the U.S. show — about what Paula Abdul and LA Reid are making — but she has not decided whether to accept and come back. The whole situation becomes even messier when you take into account Nicole Scherzinger — who was originally hired as a host, but moved to being a judge when Cheryl was axed.

Our sources say Cheryl’s deal with the U.S version is “pay or play” — meaning she gets paid whether she does the show or not. We’re told execs at FOX — and especially at Fremantle — dont want to lose the money … so it’s better to have her on the show than not.

[From TMZ]

I still think that’s kind of insulting, right? It’s not like anyone but Simon Cowell really WANTS Cheryl back on the show, they just want her to come back because they don’t want to have to pay Nicole What sit a bigger paycheck at the last minute. The British tabloids have even more details about what’s gone down – The Sun reports that Cheryl is expected to join Cowell this Wednesday in New Jersey, for the NJ tryouts. Of course, The Sun also claims that there’s been “an outcry from fans of the Girls Alound singer”… in America? We still don’t know who she is! Anyway, it’s looking more and more like Simon Cowell is behind Cheryl’s triumphant return, which just shows that Simon actually does have SOME loyalty to his friends. A source tells The Sun, “This is the biggest surprise of the lot – Cheryl is back. Who could have possibly predicted this? It appeared that Simon had dumped Cheryl for good. But behind the scenes Simon has been wooing Cheryl. Key executives at Fox realized they had made a big mistake. They have been watching the tapes of her at the American auditions and realized she could be a huge star over there.”

Hm… it sounds like it’s mostly about money, actually. They’re probably already over-budget and Cheryl’s already been paid. Why not?

Photos courtesy of WENN.