According to the UK rag, The Sun, In the wake of the departure of LA Reid, Simon Cowell is courting Rihanna and Chris Brown to join the X Factor US judging panel. Sure, that should fix what’s ailing the struggling US version of Simons singing competition reality show! Just hire a pop star and the guy who beat the crap out of her! Americans love that sh*t!
To be honest with you, I don’t believe this report. Simon has been tone-deaf to American culture, but surely, he’s not so stupid that he doesn’t understand that hiring Chris Brown would turn off a large segment of viewers. (Including me) So, I’m going to take this for the nutty bit of British gossip it probably is.
Having said that, you would think by now that Simon would have figured out that celebrity judges and mega controversy will not bring eyeballs to his struggling show. It hasn’t so far, so why keep trying? Put together a panel that has CHEMISTRY regardless of how famous they are, and cast the competition weil. If you insist that mentors and producers micromanage the contestant’s performances, how about hiring people who know how to put together an entertaining performance? Ideally, Simon would allow the contestants to have a hand in their creation, especially the acts who come into the show fully-formed, but I’m not sure his ego will allow him to let go of control.
Simon has had two seasons to get it right. I’ve lost hope that he has the ability to pull it off. Maybe he should go back to producing shows in the UK where Simon seems to understand the culture and actually seems to be a big star.
Read more at The Sun
