Si’s new X appeal
Music maestro Simon Cowell tells us why he’s giving his hit talent show the star treatment
It’s that time of year when we get our fix of The X Factor and this autumn is no exception. Except it’s completely different this year.
Hot on the heels of revamped Britain’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell has waved his magic wand on his other talent show and it now has celebrity contestants. He’s also got his old pal Louis Walsh back on board. “He didn’t need to convince me,” said Louis.
And Nicole Scherzinger who, like Louis, was last part of the judging panel in 2017, along with host Dermot O’Leary.
Nicole said: “Simon called me personally and that always means a lot. I didn’t have any concerns about coming back, it’s in my blood to do this.”
The TV maestro tells us more about the brand new The X Factor... Why did you decide to change up the normal version of the show with a celebrity one? It just felt so obvious to do a celebrity version. The only condition was I couldn’t know who was going to be on it. I said to the team, ‘You’ve got to find some acts who you believe can sell records off the back of this, because if you don’t do that it won’t work’. So that was the deal and we stuck to it. I swear to God I didn’t have a clue who any of the acts were. So I thought that was fun and very exciting for the show. They do say a change is as good as a rest... Exactly. Change in any aspect is good, but I said to someone the other day, ‘I’ve signed Westlife, Five, Il Divo, One Direction, Little Mix. They’re all groups, but they’re all different’. Sometimes you’ve got to take a break of at least a year, two years between signing one kind of group and then launching another. And it’s the same with The X Factor. You can’t just keep making the same show that it was 14 years ago and expect it to be the same show today. You’ve got to take a step back for a little while. Do you think Louis is different this time around? I do. Apart from anything else, you have got to remember Louis was a manager when I first met him. We’ve worked together on a lot of acts that he’s managed. I’ve never really ever had a disagreement with Louis over an artist or a decision or anything else. We’re genuinely friends and that was part of the decision to have him on the show again this year. It reminded me that managers can be great friends as well. Louis is a great guy. He’s a great friend. He’s gone away and has taken that time to remember what makes him tick, and that’s music. How did it feel getting back together with Louis and Nicole again? Sitting with the two of them was like we picked it up five minutes ago. Nicole is great because the funny thing is everyone thinks that she’s super confident, but she’s not. She’s an incredibly dignified person. The thing with her as well is she’ll speak directly to the team rather than going through the press. It’s so rare to find that now, a million per cent, she’s special. How did it feel filming the auditions at your house? When we filmed that night, it didn’t feel like work. I loved every second of it. I said to the producers, ‘If this really doesn’t work, we will have to re-audition for the show. That’s the deal’. So the fact that I felt we didn’t need to was just great. I found it interesting and fun, and doing this version of the show has also given me the chance to do All Stars. I’ve wanted to make the best of the best version of The X Factor for a long, long time. It’s been brilliant. I’ve loved every minute. What did you think of the celebs when you first met them? I tell you what, I was really surprised and happy about how much they cared about being on the show. With the celebrities, they really wanted it, I felt that if they bring that energy to the show and hopefully we can do our job, which is to help them make some great records, you k now, we’ve got some really good artists on our hands.