SOUND OFF: THE X FACTOR Exacts Simon's Search For Excellence

Returning to the very same format that made him internationally famous - and, to many, infamous; with the same network that brought AMERICAN IDOL by way of POP IDOL to the USA - Fox; alongside the compatriot IDOL judge whose palpable rapport with him made them one of TV's unlikeliest couples - Paula Abdul; yes, indeed - with last night's grandiose season premiere of THE X FACTOR on Fox, Simon Cowell proved why he is one of the most powerful forces in the entertainment industry and why he is the sole reason to watch reality competition programming on any level. THE VOICE hasn't got a note on THE X FACTOR - and, most of all, IDOL is mere idolatry compared to the solid gold Buddha of Simon. THE X FACTOR delivered on its promise and hype - and how!

X Marks The Hot

What makes a figure like Simon Cowell so fascinating? Is it the charm and swagger of a star combined with the industry knowledge of a titan and the precise exactitude of a supreme court judge when parsing the finer points of a performance? Yes, yes and triple yes. Sure, he has more tacks than tact and many fail to handle his prickly barbs, yet if you can weather the thorns you may very well eventually find a rose. That is the point of X FACTOR - much the same as the main idea of IDOL ten years ago when it debuted - to find the world's next music superstar. Sure, Simon made Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood household names over the course of his nine seasons on IDOL; and, also, he made Susan Boyle an international phenomenon thanks to her unexpectedly moving one-in-a-billion audition for BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT - another of Simon's reality competition-based creations - with the LES MISERABLES classic "I Dreamed A Dream". While Boyle has moved on to songs from KRISTINA - by the ABBA guys; Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus - Simon has moved on to the most important project of his career. We must remember that Simon exited IDOL a full season ago and in the interim we have seen a surprisingly successful first of what one can only assume will be many more seasons of IDOL with Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler stepping in for Cowell and Abdul, who herself left a year prior to Simon in the eleventh hour before the show started and was foolishly replaced with Ellen Degeneres, whose time spent on the show is best left forgotten. In last week's InDepth InterView with Kara DioGuardi, the former IDOL judge who sat alongside Simon for two seasons told me that he is a generous and thoughtful individual who taught her a lot about the industry in their time spent together and, I, too, had the privilege of doing one of Simon's first interviews on the X FACTOR in the US earlier this year and must agree he is a nicer guy one-on-one than his personality on these shows would imply and that is carefully calculated, of course. And that, my friends, is really the most important element to consider when analyzing any aspect of a Simon Cowell enterprise - at the end of the day, he will always be the star of the show. And, at the end of the day, he is playing a role - a heightened version of himself - and the audience is anticipating his every cat-like attack on every contestant not up to snuff. Whether a wow or a meow, Cowell tells it like it is and the refreshingly frank attitude he conveys is such a welcome respite from the ridiculously PC, fake and cutesy style that almost all on-air personalities feel compelled to employ these days and agressively exude - without naming any names, of course. When compared to any other of its ilk - IDOL included - X FACTOR establishes itself as its own thing onto itself. It's not perfect - with, most especially, Paula's vomit episode an unnecessary acoutrement. There is enough drama without the judges dominating the attention - Cheryl Cole being replaced after the first auditions included - so we can only hope that the buck stops there.

So, now that we've analyzed all aspects of Simon and his integral participation in making THE X FACTOR the success it should most certainly be, next: what exactly is THE X FACTOR? Well, that is a complex question. It is a reality competition program where pretty much any individuals or groups may enter, ages 12 and up, who are selectively whittled down to a smaller group who are then separated into four categories and individually mentored by the four judges on the show - Cowell, alongside Abdul, record producer LA Reid and Nicole Scherzinger - as they prepare to perform for America. America then votes on who will be the next superstar and the winner receives a $5 million dollar recording contract and a Pepsi sponsorship. The mentoring aspect of the show - intended to include Mariah Carey at points in the future - is what surely makes X FACTOR work most of all and has made it stand head and shoulders above any and all other reality competitions in the UK - even Simon's own and ones he is or was associated with at any point - where, we must remember, it has already been running for almost ten years. While THE VOICE and others imitate the format in some ways, that this maintains its own individuality at all it should be recognized as a success - and, anyway, the utmost essential ingredient of all is Cowell's mastery of the reality competition format and his knowhow of how to maximize its entertainment value and possibilities for a TV audience that makes anything he touches - much like King Midas - into pure TV gold.

From the teenage girl taking on Duffy and bringing the audience to its feet to one of the most bizarre renditions of "Unchained Melody" - one of Simon's personal favorite songs - to the entity known as Siamese - and who could forget the too-cool-for-school Justin Bieber wannabe - the first handful of participants alone last night on THE X FACTOR were more talented, intriguing, bizarre and entertaining - some all four of those attributes and much more - than anything seen on IDOL or the like in the last five years. Straight out of the gate, THE X FACTOR establishes itself as its own idiosyncratic enterprise. The quick-cut editing style and glamour shot montage sequences for the judges make IDOL, VOICE and its imitators look like some relic of the distant past in many ways - as do the general tone, vibe and energy that this show creates, as if from mid-air, and, then, maintains. THE X FACTOR has edge and wit and never lingers for too long on one individual - a trait that so often renders these reality competition shows toothless with an over-reliance on the reality aspect over the competition and oppositional one; and, all of them over the talent factor. THE X FACTOR is all about the entertainment value of each and every moment onstage and maximizing it the most for its ultimate effect. From the lavish and cutting-edge set to the razor-sharp editing of the comments and reaction shots to the suave hosting and voiceover work by Steve Jones, this show sets itself so far apart from the rest in just its sheer size, style and sleekness as to leave one quite, well, awed. It is sharp as Simon's tongue and glistens as bright as a blade in the moonlight, to crib a phrase from a favored songwriter of his.

Just as Simon cuts through the BS and tells it like it is, so does THE X FACTOR slice through the TV and grab your attention. As for the show's wild side, like one of the contestants claimed of her ensuing audition, "a threesome between a cheerleader, a hipster and a drag queen," - so goes the anything goes the approach this show takes on. And, now, the possibilities are endless after this pilot. It had it all. The most surprising aspect, though, was that the show had very few jokey and wildcard auditions and many more appreciable moments than most viewers most certainly anticipated from the two hours running time of the premiere - perhaps that's part of why it felt so fresh. Just using the example of the controversial contestant just quoted above, giving the audition participants another chance as the judges allowed for her to show her true stuff - with the live studio audience's input on top of it - and that compoundedly adds so much more to the experience for those watching at home than a dry, cold audition in a hotel does. The live studio audience's reaction is also the wildcard aspect that makes it so utterly exciting. Additionally, there is a warmth and heartwarming aspect about the back-stories and family reaction footage that never gets maudlin or cloying or overtly annoying, which is no small feat given how most material of that sort can become exactly that. And, even worse, when it can make everything the most boring. Indeed, THE X FACTOR constantly held my attention for the entire running time and I must admit I thought I had tired completely of reality and reality competition programming altogether up until last night. There is reAl Gold here and it is much closer to the surface and easy to see and hear than in any other program of this kind - if there even is anything out there that can really be compared to this. There isn't, actually - so we shouldn't. As has been said ad nauseam, this show is its own thing - and thank goodness it is. That it is so infectiously fun and instantly grabbing is its biggest boon to enticing and maintaining a big audience. I, for one, cannot wait until next week.

The search for a superstar is a tried and true method for creating drama, intrigue, suspense and goosebumps and no one on television now or maybe ever has such a hold of the what, where, when, how, and, most importantly, the who of making reality TV the best it can possibly be. While THE X FACTOR may never change the world or even make it a better place, it will certainly change somebody's life by the season's close and judging by the ridiculously talented and charismatic assortment of unknowns we have already seen, this maiden voyage should turn out to be a richly rewarding journey for all concerned and involved in any capacity, especially viewers at home. Simon knows reality TV from A-Z, so with THE X FACTOR he has now established where the spot is located - the X marking the next greatest treasure in all of the entertainment realm. Simon knows and always says what's hot and what's not without holding back anything - so, following his cue - THE X FACTOR is hot. All that has to happen now is for the winning streak to continue until we find the winner at season's end. There is so much to look forward to and this is only the very start. Plus, so many questions! Which judge will mentor each of the four categories - men, women, people over 30 and groups? Soon we will see the answer to that and so much more as the long and winding road of the season unfurls before us. The red carpet is certainly laid out in this most ideal of performance platforms laid out by Simon and company. The eyes of America are watching, waiting and more than ready. Show us what you've got. X marks the hot.