“Mariah Carey would be an amazing addition to the US show,” Simon Cowell told reporters recently when discussing his tateside version of The X Factor. “And she’s exactly the right caliber of star that we want for the show.”

Which means, American audiences know who she is. Cowell has been hoping to bring Cheryl Cole, a judge on the British version of the show, to his new X Factor … but US viewers probably won’t recognize her. “I’ve said I’d love Cheryl [Cole] out there, but whether it will happen, who knows?” Cowell told reporters.

If Carey were to join the show, she would be judging alongside Simon Cowell and Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger.