Judges, host punted from X Factor
Before he starts the second season of The X Factor, Simon Cowell is pressing the reset button.
Cowell, the hard-to-please producer and judge of this televised singing competition on Fox, has ousted two of the judges, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, as well as the show’s host, Steve Jones, leaving only himself and L.A. Reid at the judges table. He did not name replacements, nor is he in any hurry to do so, as the show is not slated to return to Fox’s schedule until the fall.
But it was evident that Cowell, who created The X Factor in Britain then brought it to the United States, was trying to recast the show, which was panned by some television critics after its U.S. première last fall. Jones was derided by some as robotic; Scherzinger, for being weepy.
Focus groups reached the same conclusions about the cast. So Cowell sent word that he was, in effect, starting over.
Abdul, who has been close to the
acerbic Cowell for years, having served as a fellow judge and constant foil on American Idol, said in a statement that she has “absolute understanding of the situation” and added that Cowell would remain a “dear friend.”
She said, “I’ve learned through my longevity in this industry that business decisions oftentimes override personal considerations.”
Cowell indicated that he expected to collaborate with Abdul on a new project.
The X Factor came to the United States with exceedingly high expectations; in the protracted period before the première, Cowell himself suggested that 20 million people would watch, approaching the numbers for American Idol, the singing competition he used to judge. Instead the show drew an average of about 12.6 million viewers — a success for any network, but a failure for Cowell.
In Britain, where The X Factor has been a hit since 2004, judge and host changes are common.