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The X Factor on FOX HD

47K views 939 replies 74 participants last post by  skyehill 
#1 ·
Didn't see a topic for this, so might as well start one. Today the final judge was named, and it's familiar to fans of Idol:


Judges/Mentors:


LA Reid

Simon Cowell

Cheryl Cole

Paula Abdul


Co-hosts: Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones(British)


Season one of the US version begins September 2011 with both Cheryl and Simon leaving the British version to be judges and mentors on the US show.


Live Auditions begin shooting in LA May 8th, 2011. The winner will receive a recording contract in addition to 5 million dollars paid out over 5 years.


Format rumored to follow the UK and Aussie versions:

(1) Audition round to cut the contestants down to a couple hundred


(2) Bootcamp round similar to American Idol's Hollywood Week meant to reduce the numer of finalists to 24-32. The 32 will be comprised of 4 groups. One group of women 25 and younger. One group of men 25 and younger. One group for group acts. And finally one group consisting of artists over the age of 25.


(3) Judges Home round. Producers of the show assign one of the four groups to one judge. Those 6 (or 8) artists go to the Mentor's home and sing one last time. The mentor is accompanied by a famous artist to help the mentor decide which 3 artists to move along to the live round for a total of 12 finalists, plus 4 wildcards.


(4) Live round. The mentors chosen finalists have their songs picked by their mentor as well as receive advice on staging etc. America will vote each week, and the person or group with the lowest number of votes is gone on results night. The two lowest vote getters after that sing-off and the judges decide who goes home. If they stalemate, the vote tally is used to decide. The automatic kick appears to only apply in weeks 1 and 2, and then in the round immediately prior to the semi-final round.


Similar to American Idol, the UK version of X Factor has had issues with calculated efforts by voters to keep the worst artist(s) alive for as long as possible.
 
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#2 ·
Cheryl Cole is now out at X Factor US. TMZ reports that she had bad chemistry with Paula. Reports also say there was a fear Americans wouldnt be able to understand her British accent. Are Americans really that stupid that they couldnt understand English with an accent on it? I watched X Factor UK last season and she's perfectly understandable.


So Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Dolls) is moving from co-host to judge/mentor.
 
#4 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarod M /forum/post/20488181


This story sounds like a lot of speculation without any facts, other than that Cheryl Cole is out.

Yep. A paper in the UK said she left because she's homesick. All I know is Nicole isn't someone I want to watch on TV. On the last season of X Factor she replaced Cheryl during the audition phase when Cheryl got really sick, and she just wasn't personable or kind.


TMZ updated their story and said producers told them she was let go over concern that Americans wouldnt understand her accent. In other words they think Americans are stupid.


Here's a sample of Cheryl (she's the mentor for the singer in the video). You can hear her in the beginning and then again at the end of the song.

 
#5 ·
So apparently after getting canned from the US show by FOX producers unhappy with how she presented herself during the first 4 live auditions, Cheryl went back to England and ignored offers to return to the UK X Factor. It's being reported FOX offered Cheryl her job on the US show back last night. Simon and publicity stunts? No wayyyyyyy. The next set of live auditions are the middle of this week, so it will be interesting to see if she returns. She has a pay or play clause in her contract, so if she turns down the gig she also loses the money.
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dm145 /forum/post/20693496


How is this show different than Idol?

Judges serve as mentors (which The Voice copied), singing groups are allowed, no age restriction other than you have to be at least 13, viewers only get to vote but the judges decide from the bottom 3 who goes home each week after they sing-off, auditions occur in front of a live audience. It's very similar to Idol in numerous ways, but it's also improved over Idol in many other ways. This show grew out of the original Pop Idol program in the UK.
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shedrock /forum/post/20693016


New promo has started running:


While the first part is obviously a funny joke (with added product placement), the actual show content looks identical to another show from a couple years ago.

Loved the shots at Idol's idiotic judging, but how could they not expect getting shot back at when their show looks an awful lot like it? Pepsi instead Coke, Chevy instead of Ford, and one of the girls they showed competing was a reject from last season's Idol. Can't help but think The Voice stole a bit of their thunder.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamieva /forum/post/20693709


And 2 of Idol's former original judges.

Yep. The one that every show would kill to have and Paula. The problem with X Factor is that the mentor setup neuters Simon's critiques a lot of the time when it's his team that gives a bad performance. The show itself is a huge step up over Idol, especially on results night when the sing-offs occur. Otherwise it's basically a mash-up of Idol and The Voice.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/20693673


Judges serve as mentors (which The Voice copied), singing groups are allowed, no age restriction other than you have to be at least 13, viewers only get to vote but the judges decide from the bottom 3 who goes home each week after they sing-off, auditions occur in front of a live audience. It's very similar to Idol in numerous ways, but it's also improved over Idol in many other ways. This show grew out of the original Pop Idol program in the UK.

Yep - sort of.


Pop Idol was its precursor in the UK (and Cowell was a judge on the show), but it was produced by Simon Fuller's 19 Production company. Cowell created The X Factor - producing it via his Syco arm in association with Talkback Thames I think - which was similar but not identical. There was some litigation activity which meant that Pop Idol didn't continue in the UK, and The X Factor did, but Cowell continued as a judge on American Idol for a number of years. Meanwhile Cowell couldn't run The X Factor in competion with Idol in the US for a number of years. These deals are now over.


The X Factor is pretty huge in the UK. The judges 'mentoring' is the biggest difference - each judge has a section - Boys, Girls, Groups, Older performers etc. Along with Cowell's "Britain's Got Talent" and ITV Studios "I'm A Celebrity..." it's one of the three main ratings juggernauts for ITV.


German set designer Florian Wieder has done the set design for a number of years - he did the Eurovision Song Contest set in Dusseldorf this year. Expect a LOT of LED if he's doing the US set...


Also very interesting that Steve Jones got the presenting gig. He's done a few high-ish profile shows in the UK ("Let's Dance for Comic Relief", "101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow" etc., and was a long standing presenter of Channel 4's "T4" youth block of weekend programming) He's welsh, and a former model. Be interesting to see how his accent goes down. (He's had a string of high profile girlfriends - including Pamela Anderson apparently...)


When Nicole Scherzinger stood in for Cheryl Cole on the British show she did a pretty good job IMHO, and certainly wasn't unpopular. She seemed pretty bright to me, and knew how to the play the game.
 
#13 ·
The thing that's set the UK X Factor apart from Idol for me is the stage design and the choreography of it all. I believe that part is the product of Brian Friedman. I'm kinda hoping Simon brought him to the US (he is an American afterall), because it really does add a lot to the performances. Most times American Idol feels like a pageant, whereas X Factor felt like a concert. Of course there's the obligatory joke contestants. Youtube Warner from X Factor UK 2010 to see what I mean. How someone like him makes the final group is beyond me and I hope they refrain from that garbage in the upcoming season.
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/20694184


The thing that's set the UK X Factor apart from Idol for me is the stage design and the choreography of it all. I believe that part is the product of Brian Friedman.

Well the set design is Florian Wieder - but the staging and choreography is attributed to Brian Friedman. The lighting is usually pretty good as well. The TV coverage is often criticised for being 'all about the wide' a bit too much though. (As though the stage is being covered, not the artist)
Quote:
I'm kinda hoping Simon brought him to the US (he is an American afterall), because it really does add a lot to the performances. Most times American Idol feels like a pageant, whereas X Factor felt like a concert. Of course there's the obligatory joke contestants. Youtube Warner from X Factor UK 2010 to see what I mean. How someone like him makes the final group is beyond me and I hope they refrain from that garbage in the upcoming season.

Think you mean "Wagner".


Most years there is a slightly left-field act the public latch on to. Rhydian, the platinum bleach blonde opera singer, or the sister/brother pop act Same Difference are other examples.
 
#15 ·
Oh god yes it was Wagner. My bad. Interesting comment about the shooting of the stage. Since I only watched the seasons on my 13 inch computer screen I never was really hit by that, but what really struck me each week was when the mentors pointed out how bad of a week some of the contestants were having. You Brits are rough on the contestants =).
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/20693837


Yep. The one that every show would kill to have and Paula. The problem with X Factor is that the mentor setup neuters Simon's critiques a lot of the time when it's his team that gives a bad performance. The show itself is a huge step up over Idol, especially on results night when the sing-offs occur. Otherwise it's basically a mash-up of Idol and The Voice.

Been watching the UKs XF for years and I have to disagree. Simon still criticizes harshly when deserved even if it's his own act.
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeEyes /forum/post/20982459


Been watching the UKs XF for years and I have to disagree. Simon still criticizes harshly when deserved even if it's his own act.

I only watched last season, and I never once saw him say a bad thing to his own groups, despite the fact that his groups were really really awful.
 
#20 ·
My sister called me (we watch all the singing shows, and then talk on the phone about what and who we liked, or disliked. She called to say how awful the audition show was. Apparently it takes an hour just to show a few people. Not sure I want to watch that, but its on my DVR. Might just wait until they get to bootcamp in two weeks.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/20982647


My sister called me (we watch all the singing shows, and then talk on the phone about what and who we liked, or disliked. She called to say how awful the audition show was. Apparently it takes an hour just to show a few people. Not sure I want to watch that, but its on my DVR. Might just wait until they get to bootcamp in two weeks.

You want the parade of idiots like on the Idol auditions?
 
#22 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarod M /forum/post/20982795


You want the parade of idiots like on the Idol auditions?

The problem is they're giving idiots 15 mins of air time on X Factor instead of the 2mins they get on Idol. Apparently there was a guy that came out and pulled his pants down (underwear and all) and they let him perform. That's not good TV, imo. I'm not a prude, but I watch these shows for the singing.


Just watched the first hour or so. It's not as bad as my sister said. It's pretty entertaining, but I hate Nicole compared to Cheryl. Love that LA and Simon aren't the yes men that Randy and Steven (and JLO ) are. Not a fan of the host or his accent.
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by skyehill /forum/post/20982935


The problem is they're giving idiots 15 mins of air time on X Factor instead of the 2mins they get on Idol. Apparently there was a guy that came out and pulled his pants down (underwear and all) and they let him perform. That's not good TV, imo. I'm not a prude, but I watch these shows for the singing.


Just watched the first hour or so. It's not as bad as my sister said. It's pretty entertaining, but I hate Nicole compared to Cheryl. Love that LA and Simon aren't the yes men that Randy and Steven (and JLO ) are. Not a fan of the host or his accent.

I thought the show had the awkward feel of a first show. They showed the young and the old to emphasize that it is different from Idol. But these auditions really aren't a whole lot different, other than the audience. I like the longer performances (some are worth seeing), but I don't like how choppy the editing was on the judges comments. I'd prefer a conversation rather than comments edited together.


As for the singers, I wasn't that impressed. The woman who sang Natural Woman was over-singing to an annoying extent. The 13 year old had a voice that fit her song very well, but I didn't hear anything that would make me think she could compete with Anna Graceman, much less anyone older.


As for the guy who dropped his pants, I found the whole combination of things about him to be funny. I don't buy that Paula was really sick.
 
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