While abroad last semester in London, I became obsessed with the television show the X Factor. The X Factor is a lot like American Idol (it even has Simon Cowell as a judge) but the difference is that a wide range of ages can compete.
There are four judges and each becomes a mentor for a specific group throughout the competition, girls, guys, groups, and over 28. They work with them throughout the week and create a performance to try to win the audience's vote.
The difference between the X Factor and American Idol is that it does not necessarily showcase the people with the most talent, but rather the people who draw the audience in the most. They even have a choreographer on the show that works with the competitors and extras to create a performance.
This goes along with the dicussion we had the other day in class about whether dance is needed. I think that sometimes, having other abilities can trump the fact that you are not the best singer. As long as you have that "X Factor" you can go far.
Simon Cowell is bringing the X Factor to America this fall. It will be interesting to see the difference in talent from the US in comparison to the UK version.
Here are a few examples of the competitors from this past season.
Matt Cardle was the one who won the competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR6iwgTmvys
Wagner... I have no words for him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq49Gv3wFB0
Cher Lloyd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiusSaqmapU
I am so excited you posted about X Factor! I was in London last semester as well, and at first, was like "What's with this X Factor business?" But as time passed, I slowly began to watch more & more of it. And yes, I too, became a regular viewer on Sat/Sun nights. I like the point you made about who draws the crowd the most: I found that to be the biggest difference between X Factor & American Idol - of course the contestants must be able to sing, but I feel like X Factor was more focused around the entire performance (everything ranging from the correct song to sing, to the props on stage). Wagner was ridiculous, I was surprised he went so far. And I am happy that Matt won :)
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