Simon Cowell dishes on his new X Factor twist-revealing the vote order on the results show–with The Hollywood Reporter. He claims that he suggested the idea three or four weeks ago–that it was not a last minute decision. Hm.
Tell us about the ranking decision. Was that a huge thing to do?
I suggested this about three or four weeks ago. I said what might be interesting is the one thing everyone wants to know — including me — every week, is who won. So I said, “What if we just tell everyone, then see what happens?”
As creator and one of the executive producers of the show, it’s hard to believe you didn’t know the order already.
You know, even last year I had no idea.
There is NO WAY control freak, Simon Cowell, doesn’t know how the votes shake out week to week. BITCH PLEASE.
Last year we had that great Rachel Crow moment that came out of nowhere. Do you think showing the results will take away from that, the surprise moment?
I don’t know, I think we should try for a couple of weeks, and we can always bring it back in. Certainly it’s the right thing to do this week because now we know where we stand. Particularly for someone like Beatrice Miller, and perhaps Arin Ray, who may have been thinking they were doing much better than they were. They have to change their game plan now.
Are there more surprises in store besides the ranking?
I don’t think we can bring anyone else back. But the ranking thing is something we will consider week on week, if we do it or not. It was the right thing to do tonight. And it has pissed me off.
How can Simon make a decision on whether to reveal the vote rankings or not week to week if he doesn’t know the results? C’mon. The twist was totally about motivating the fan bases of his acts–the groups. He’ll trot out the gimmick when it can be used as a tool to manipulate voters.
