X Factor: Simon Cowell Humbled, Still Competitive (On Backstories, Pimping and More)

Simon Cowell and LA Reid sat for a press conference yesterday with the New York media to talk about X Factor. Here are a few choice soundbites from the duo.

“I’m not going to lie. I wanted 20 million when we launched, ” says Cowell, “but now I’m kind of back in the real world and I’m seeing this grow naturally. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been.”

“Humbled, but still competitive, ” Simon says of the X Factor ratings, “We’re gonna get there in the end. I do believe that.”

Sources: TV Line, THR

On singing competition fatigue: REID: People who say there’s a fatigue are generally not the public, because the public is into this. I mean, you can look at the YouTube hits and see that with each one of our contestants, on their own, the numbers are just through the roof. That speaks to the fans. They’re into this. Maybe our competitors or our critics at some level would like to think this is a fatigued genre, but I don’t think that’s true at all. COWELL | I also think we’re approaching this, rightly so, as a start-of-decade show. You’ve got to bring in an audience, genuinely, who have not watched these types of shows before.

On pulling out pre-written quips, Cowell: You can’t [have anything ready] until you’re there. I actually have worked with people who’ve done what you just mentioned. One person who turned up with a book of all these crazy insults, but they were all out of context. Somebody would sing and it was like, turn to Page 27: “You’re like a raspberry donut without the filling.” And I was like, “What are you talking about?” I swear to God! (Wonder who he’s talking about. Hm.)

Contestant name changes: COWELL: We were talking about Drew Ryniewicz. Drop the Ryniewicz — she’s now Drew.

Will LGBT contestants be allowed to include their orientation in their backstory? COWELL: I don’t care. I couldn’t care less. We behave like we’re in the music business. When we sign an artist, there is no form where you fill in. If you’re a star, you’re a star.

More on backstories: COWELL: There’s a [problem with] repetition, and I’m very aware of this: Once you’ve told the story, it’s told. I don’t need to hear it over and over and over again. But we genuinely don’t know when the contestants come out [for auditions] — that’s why we ask them tons of questions: We’re not fed any notes and we have no biographical information.

On contestants who come in to the competition with a strong identity, REID: That just tells me they have a post-season career. That’s what it says.

On Judges pimping certain contestants i.e. David Archuleta over David Cook, and Adam Lambert over Kris Allen. COWELL: It’s a very good point, actually. I watch and I learn, and I’m aware of this. You’ve got to show the interesting contestants in the beginning. You’d be crazy not to. What we did on the boot camp show and the home-visit show is that, I don’t think we had any favored nations here. Everyone — whether you’re good or bad — gets equal billing. And it’s more interesting, funny enough, for the audience to make their own mind up. And I’m learning this more and more now.

About mj santilli 34830 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!