Pictured: Simon Cowell, The X Factor creator and executive producer. CR: Ray Mickshaw / FOX
The X Factor, Simon Cowell promises, will be an all-new take on a television talent competition.
“I wouldn’t have made the show unless I thought it was going to be different,” Cowell insists. “It’s taken me a while with FOX to decide when we were going to do this. They wanted it last year, we weren’t ready for it last year, we felt the time was ready now. The fact that this is being launched in 2011, we see this as a game changer.”
That “game changer,” Cowell claims, means that they’re going to make new rules, with unique and different contestants and, of course, mentor the wannabes to stardom.
As for that other show that was already mentoring talent…The Voice…well, Cowell says there is room for all – and he’s not worried The X Factor will suffer as a result.
“We’ve been on the air for seven years now in the U.K. and we’ve always had mentoring,” he begins adding, “I think they started two years and they had mentoring, but that happens. I think it’s important for anyone – because The Voice went out before The X Factor – that we were on air before them and this was something we always felt was unique to us. I think when you watch the show how we work with the contestants, how that is shown on the show – who you end up working with, it is very different to The Voice and I didn’t have a problem with The Voice. When we heard it was coming we said to our team, ‘You’ve got to accept the fact that there are two shows and that you’ve got to make the show better.’ Therefore I think the people that benefit from this is the audience because you’re going to get better made shows.”
Along with Cowell, The X Factor’s panel of judges are: Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger.
The show kicks off 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.