X17 XCLUSIVE - Paula Abdul To Appear LIVE On American Idol For Simon's Farewell

Paula Abdul will be on stage LIVE tonight at the American Idol finale for Simon Cowell's big farewell. Forget finalists Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze. We're more excited about Paula's return to AI!

A source close to Paula tells X17online exclusively:

"Yes, Paula taped a segment on Monday, but she'll definitely be live on the show, too. Simon is in for a special treat. As for what exactly she's doing, producers haven't nailed it down yet. Several ideas are floating around, like possibly a stage performance, but it may all change last minute."

Just this week, CBS announced that Paula will be mentor, coach, lead judge and executive producer of the upcoming show, Got to Dance. But will that be Paula's only TV gig?

Simon's certainly made it clear that Paula is in the running to become a judge on the US version of The X Factor. As for whether Paula will be pulling double duty on both shows, our source tells us:

"Simon has certainly not closed the door on this one. It's no secret that he loves Paula and knows she'll bring in the ratings. He still very much wants Paula to be a part of this new venture especially since it'll be going up against American Idol. But he has time to make the final deal happen. The show is still a year away from premiering, so until Simon wraps up Idol and takes a little vacation, the final X Factor details won't be announced for a while."

It's good to be Paula!