Yesterday, in a conference call with reporters, American Idol judge Simon Cowell revealed some details of the Season 9 Idol to start January 13.

When asked about the new contestants, Cowell said the show has an interesting bunch, adding, “We got stuck last year with a battle of the blondes; they all looked that same and we couldn’t differentiate one versus the other. We tried to be as broad and as open-minded as possible so we don’t wind up with 12 people from the Stepford Wives.”

Cowell also hinted that the season 9 boys will be much tougher than the girls, saying “We filmed Hollywood Week about a month ago. My memory of that is that the guys, overall, were stronger. Five or six of them stood out more than the girls.”

When asked about the Season 9 mentors, Cowell didn’t reveal any names, but said, “We try every year to get Paul McCartney on, and for whatever reason, he won’t come on. Lionel Richie and Quentin Tarantino, they were brilliant fun, and we’d like those type of people to come back. We just recently had Beyonce on the British version of the show, and she was absolutely incredible, and Britney was great fun. Britney would literally be first on the list [to appear on 'Idol.'] I would love to see her mentor the contestants. There was more excitement and interest in her [on 'X Factor'] than I’d seen in many, many years. She would be very, very welcome.”