While America is deep in the midst of picking the next ‘American Idol’, the smart money right now is on music mogul Tommy Mottola to replace Simon Cowell!

Deadline Hollywood‘s Nikki Finke and Mike Fleming report that ex-Sony Music chieftain Tommy Mottola, best known to many as Mariah Carey‘s ex-husband and Svengali (and now husband of Latin pop princess Thalia), could be the next Simon Cowell when Simon quits American Idol at the end of the current season. Mottola’s music cred — he built Mariah’s career, as well as Jessica Simpson‘s and Jennifer Lopez‘, and shepherded major stars like Michael Jackson and George Michael — appears to be his main qualification.

Here’s where it gets really interesting: Deadline also reports Simon definitely wants Tommy on his team for his new singing competition, The X-Factor, a judge lineup which could include former Idol judge Paula Abdul as well. So what happens to Idol when Simon poaches Tommy for his show?

So, here’s the question: Who do you think would be the best person to replace Simon?