Simon Cowell tweeted early Saturday morning that the judges for The X Factor Season 3 will be revealed on Monday.

With rumors swirling about who would be joining returning judges Simon Cowell and Demi Lovato for the upcoming season of The X Factor, the 53-year-old Brit tweeted to his followers that the new judges will be announced on Monday, May 20th:

Names like Hilary Duff, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paulina Rubio have been in the mix as potential judges, but the one singer closest to signing a deal is Kelly Rowland. The former Destiny's Child singer already had a stint as a judge on the UK version of The X Factor in 2011 and she is reportedly close to signing a deal for the US version as well.

Sources are claiming that the judging panel may consist of Cowell and three women. This female-heavy panel hasn't been tried on any singing competition before, but a source close to production said, "both the producers and Simon really think it's the right way to go."

The source added: "All the women get along really well and Demi continues to have great chemistry and banter with Simon."

This will mark the third straight year where two of the previous year's judges are not returning. Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger were fired after the show's inaugural season, as was host Steve Jones.

For Season 2, Cowell replaced them with Demi Lovato and Britney Spears, hoping to appeal to a younger audience. Spears was accused as being too "boring" and quit before she could get fired. Music producer L.A. Reid, who judged the show's first and second seasons left so that he could devote his attention to his record company.

Demi Lovato expressed her excitement over staying on to judge Season 3:

"Last season was an unbelievable experience and I really enjoyed developing personal relationships with the contestants and the panel. I look forward to taking my previous experience and applying it to make this season even better!"

After firing co-host Khloe Kardashian Odom, Cowell did bring back Mario Lopez to host the third season solo.

Judging for The X Factor Season 3 will begin on Tuesday in Charleston, according to Cowell.

Tags: The X Factor USA Kelly Rowland Simon Cowell Demi Lovato The X Factor