Latest On 'The X Factor' Judge Wish-List: Beyonce?

Rumors keep flying every which way including "loose" stabbing at who will replace two ousted U.S. "X Factor" judges and one axed host.

While the speculation regarding who will fill ex-"X" host Steve Jones' shoes hasn't ticked up much, rumored potential judge candidates Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Cheryl Cole and, most prominently, Mariah Carey may scoot over. Depending on who's to be believed, Beyonce Knowles may or may not be on executive producer/judge Simon Cowell's radar.

Reports have Cowell offering the ex-Destiny's Child singer and new mother by husband Jay-Z a rumored $500 million to fill one of the two vacancies left recently when Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger were given their walking papers, credits The Huffington Post to MediaTakeout.com. Though it doesn't seem like a gig tailor-made for the mother of an infant, it's not like Carey is far removed from motherhood herself, and Mariah has been the most talked-about potential replacement since before Scherzinger and Abdul were cut loose.

For what it's worth, The Huffington Post speculates that Abdul was let go over concerns she let contestants off too lightly - noticeably the same criticism lobbed Scherzinger's way, particularly when her lack of the heart to tell Marcus Canty to hit the bricks led to favorite Rachel Crow's elimination by audience and Scherzinger catching Hell from fans.

"I'm used to being on stage and performing and singing for people and people cheering for me," Scherzinger said. "I am an artist first, not a judge first! The elimination process for me has been very difficult."

The rumored remedy was at one point a swap across the pond with Scherzinger and U.K. "X Factor" judge Kelly Rowland, but that never materialized. Before being suddenly canned, Scherzinger already had a longtime in-progress solo album called Killer Love that she wanted finally completed. She's also set her sights on seemingly every young singing starlet's natural next evolutionary stage: more acting.

Meanwhile, Carey's husband and father of the pair's twins Nick Cannon claims she couldn't be less interested. "Why would my wife want to be on a show like that? For someobody who has a legendary career, I don't know why they would," Cannon is quoted by the U.K. Daily Mail as saying.

"His wife" should offer up a history lesson - one with some recent entries. As previously reported, Cowell had Carey reportedly lined up as a guest home-audition judge alongside him, but Hurricane Irene's machinations played havoc with Carey's travel and nixed that possibility.

Later, it was "X Factor" producers who declined Carey's $300,000 payment request to make a holiday appearance performing her retooled "All I Want For Christmas Is You" alongside Justin Bieber.

Nor does Cannon exactly directly address the rumor, per Pop Crush, that it was Carey who reportedly contacted Cowell when word started leaking that one way or another, Scherzinger wouldn't be back for a second season.