X Factor to host Prince and David Bowie tribute shows because that's exactly what they would have wanted

Prince said in a 2011 interview that he hated other people covering his songs

Legendary musicians Prince and David Bowie both died unexpectedly earlier this year

The late, great David Bowie and Prince are to be honoured in the only way The X Factor knows how. That’s right, tribute will reportedly be paid to these two titans of the music industry with special, themed weeks, in which aspiring pop stars cover their greatest hits in a bid to be the next Christmas number one (providing Rage Against the Machine don’t go messing up Simon Cowell’s masterplan again).

The 13th series of the competition airs later this month with returning judge Louis Walsh reportedly to blame for this idea. Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger will also be back on the panel, with Dermot O’Leary on hosting duties again after being tempted back to the tune of £1.5 million (but Dermot, what first attracted you to the ridiculously well-paid job of The X Factor presenter?).

“Simon is a big fan of Bowie and has never held back his admiration for him,” a source told The Sun. “But it’s actually Louis who has been pushing this. He thinks it would be a fitting tribute to both Prince and David who both sadly left us this year. Both have a huge repertoire of hits so it’ll give the contestants a wide range of songs to choose from. There’s upbeat stuff and big ballads they can belt out too so it’ll be fair on everyone. But fans shouldn’t get too excited, nothing is set in stone just yet.”

Cowell had been trying to get Bowie on The X Factor for years, before the hugely influential singer died from cancer aged 69 earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, he never said yes. His final album Blackstar, released just days before his death, is nominated for the Mercury Prize this year. He had better things to do right up until the end.

The music mogul had more luck with Prince when he sung “Satisfied” during the American Idol final in 2006, but the pair fell out after the “Purple Rain” singer refused to meet any of the contestants.

“It just tells you how selfish he is,” Cowell said at the time. “He comes on, not a word - ‘I’m not gonna sing with anybody else, I’m not gonna say goodbye’. Thank you for your generosity, Prince.”

Prince died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl in April.

In a 2011 interview with the Guardian he revealed how much he hates people covering his songs after Glee’s did “Kiss”. “There’s no other artform where you can do that,” he said. “You can’t go and do your own version of Harry Potter. Do you want to hear somebody else sing ‘Kiss’?”

ITV insists that despite dropping ratings, The X Factor will continue “into 2017 and beyond”. Representatives for the show are yet to respond to our request for comment.