Bloodbath At The X Factor

Charlie Toft January 31, 2012

We suspected that there would be changes on The X Factor after the ratings for the first U.S. season fell short of the confident predictions made by Simon Cowell. But can it still be called “tweaking” if you wind up replacing the majority of the permanent cast?

News began to leak out Monday evening regarding changes to the lineup for The X Factor, and the bodies fell in order of “We saw it coming” to “COMPLETE shock.” First came the widely anticipated report that Steve Jones would not be returning as the show’s host. Then we began hearing that Nicole Scherzinger would not be retained as one of the four mentors – a more fundamental change, but still not anything that had not been gossiped about for weeks.

But later came the true bombshell: Paula Abdul was also losing her mentor role. Who could have guessed? After all, Paula’s parting of the ways with American Idol came over the strong objections of Cowell, and one thing he said all along about his new show was that he wanted his old colleague to be a part of it. Paula is learning something now that Cheryl Cole discovered last summer, when she was canned from The X Factor before the auditions were over: Simon doesn’t let friendship interfere with what he sees as good business.

Abdul’s role on the show in Season One was limited by the fact that she was saddled with mentoring the groups category, and that’s a thankless task since shows like this seem to favor the solo singer with whom audiences can identify. Her groups were history within a few weeks. But a bigger problem might have been the “been there, done that” factor. Her so-called feuding with Cowell was never as big a part of the Idol formula as both seemed to believe, and her appeal has always been overestimated.

Jones took the hosting role at a disadvantage, since he was an unknown in the states, and didn’t help himself by coming across as mechanical and uncomfortable with live television. He seemed totally lost when it came to dealing with heartbroken contestants. As for Scherzinger, whose continuing ability to land judging roles on talent shows is one of TV’s great mysteries, she was easily the most disliked part of the mix on The X Factor, as her inane messages of uplift became widely parodied throughout the Internet.

Where does the show go from here – and this is assuming that the one other remaining judge, L.A. Reid, can be considered safe? A story on the firings from The Hollywood Reporter states that Cowell is looking to add more starpower to the panel – presumably a reaction to the success of The Voice, a show whose four mentors are all currently relevant recording artists. Speculation is centering on Mariah Carey, who was dealing with newborn twins when the judging panel was first taking shape, and who was scheduled to appear on an episode this past season before a hurricane canceled her flight. And if Simon wanted to admit a mistake and bring back the likable Cole, her persistent fanbase would no doubt be willing to forgive and forget.