If you've consumed mass media for more than three minutes over the last year, you've seen or heard something about Simon Cowell's new singing competition show, The X Factor. And if you've consumed mass media for more than three minutes over the last decade or so, you've probably seen a show that's very similar to The X Factor.
As much as the show would like to stake a claim to originality or uniqueness, it's pretty much American Idol meets America's Got Talent meets The Voice meets (insert show here). Auditions happen, some good and some bad (thankfully, this show isn't drawing out the bad like AI does). Judges say things, and some contestants are passed through to the next stage of the competition, all in the hopes of winning the $5 million grand prize (now actually in cash rather than a potential for making that much).
That being said, there are some differences between this show and Cowell's old show. Contestants can be any age 12 and up, and can include groups. Those making it past the audition are put into four groups (men, women, groups and "older performers") for mentoring and development prior to competing. In fact, this sounds a lot more like The Voice than anything else.
The auditions also take place in front of a live audience (like The Voice, again, which makes me wonder who is ripping off who here), comprised of 4300 of the loudest, most easily entertained people the producers could find. Seriously, this audience will clap and holler for pretty much anything (outside of the guy who dropped his pants during his audition, he got booed). I do think the audience makes a difference - it can build or erode confidence depending on the performance, certainly - but I wish it was a little less manic.
The judging panel is comprised of Cowell, Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger (replacing Cheryl Cole and her Geordie accent) and L.A. Reid. They do pretty much what judging panels do on these shows, and are thankfully more willing to be honest than the AI folks. I especially like L.A. Reid, who manages to be no-nonsense without being a jerk. The producers did try to drum up some sort of conflict with him and Cowell based on their disagreements over contestants, to no avail. At this point at least, there's no ill will there.
People who are into the whole Simon-Paula dynamic, or into the glitter and unicorn-filled world that exists in Paula's head, will be disappointed. In the early going, at least, they played nice and Paula was as coherent as the next person.
There's a heavy redemption angle to the show, as the ratio of successful contestant to compelling/emotional backstory was pretty much one to one. I will say that hearing about the importance of the audition or how someone's whole life is about this moment resonates more when its from a single mom in her 40s than some 19 year old whose "struggle" only exists in their head. I have nothing against redemption, just hoping this doesn't turn into Dr. Phil: The Musical or something.
Whether or not the show is worth watching hinges on your expectations. If you're expecting a singing competition that's new and fresh and full of Fox attitude, well, sorry, you're going to be disappointed. If you just like singing competitions and are sick of the parade of meh that's been coming out of AI the last few years, you may find something to like here.
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