Wonder what the scene was like backstage at the X Factor last night? Here’s a round up of details from journalists who were there live and in person:
Read more at TV Guide:
- Simon’s front-runner is Drew — but he says she’ll need to watch out for Josh. “Josh is gonna be a tough competitor, ” he told TVGuide.com after the show. “America is going to get him. And I like the fact that he’s not trying to be somebody he’s not. That authenticity is refreshing.” (Who was less impressive? “Chris Rene has got some way to go, ” he said. “But you know when he’s good, he’s brilliant.”)
- Paula vs. Nicole? Forget the kiss you saw. These two barely speak when the cameras aren’t rolling. In fact, Paula rarely acknowledges her neighbor to the right, even though all Nicole seems to want is her love.
- Melanie’s “I Have Nothing” made Rachel cry. “I definitely cried for Melanie when she hit those high notes, ” Rachel told us. “Drew and I were back there behind those big screens just singing along, it was so fun.”
- Astro thought being picked as the first act to perform was “stupid.” “I think closing the show is better, “ he said after the show. “I didn’t want to go first, I thought it was so stupid. But then the judges told me I set the tone for the rest of the night and that was pretty awesome.”
- L.A. Reid felt really bad about eliminating Phillip. During the commercial break, L.A. told the audience, “That was tough for me. Was it tough for you guys? I thought I’d feel better than I do right now.” (Oh please. L.A. sabotaged Phil with that terrible song choice.)
- Bigger than American Idol in every way! So even though X Factor films on the same stage as Idol, on the night of its first live show, they packed the audience with more people. They erected video screens bigger than those used on Idol. They even managed to build the stage so everything is pointed in the direction opposite the way things Idol face on Idol.
- The girls won the night. As far as the loudest applause-getters go, Melanie, Drew and Rachel are all fighting for the crown. Astro also instantly got the crowd on its feet — and, impressively, kept them there during his entire number.
Read more at The Hollywood Reporter:
- Simon Cowell told the crowd during one commercial break, “You can do whatever you like!” – And so they did. There was hooting and hollering. People stood up when they felt like it, and sat down without being prompted. Some even chewed gum (a strict no-no during Idol tapings), others simply made their presence known, like my back row next-door neighbor, Perez Hilton, who said he already has the top 4 picked: Melanie Amaro, Stacy Francis, Lakoda Rayne and Astro. Read: duh.
- Elimination pile-up: In what was one of the more difficult moments to sit through, both in the studio and at home, Dexter Haygood’s elimination was met with a single comment by the former homeless man: “I’m confused.” Stacy Francis and Josh Kracjik were, too, as Steve Jones practically had to shoo them off the stage with an “off you go.” They didn’t stay out of sight for long, though, as both raced back to center stage for a group hug.
Read more at Zap2it:
- Marcus Canty on performing Culture Club’s “Do you really want to hurt me”: “I heard it on ‘Shrek’ and all I knew was the Gingerbread man singing it. So when I went and researched it and was looking at the video, I was like ‘Ok L.A. Reid. Is this what you want me to sing? Are you sure? For the first show?’ But he was trying to get me to transform out of being this typical R&B (singer)…”
- Simon Cowell on his favorite subject, himself: “If you ask them (the contestants) quietly who they want to be their mentor, they’d all say me. I mean genuinely they would…I’m better at this and I’m more fun to be with.”
- Astro on having pyrotechnics as part of the show: “It definitely made me feel like more of a star, it was awesome.”
Read more at Entertainment Weekly
- Phillip Lomax’s confetti vacuums First of all, not to harp on this point, but the decibels pulsating through Starship Migraine were so deafening, they effectively canceled out poor Phil’s thin vocals. But, hey, the guy did get confetti cannons — and, you’ll notice, he was the only one, since it took a small platoon of PAs armed with wide mops and some serious-looking leaf vacuums to clear all those tiny slips of colored paper off the stage during the ad break. After Phil was cut from the show, by the by, Simon was the first up to the stage to wish him well.
- The undeniable allure of LeRoy Bell The difference between the audience’s investment in Paula’s Groups group and Nicole’s Over-30s group was palpable, no more so than with 60-year-old LeRoy Bell. As a gay man, I am wracking my brain to think of another time in my life when I’ve been surrounded by as much focused, potent female sexual energy as I was during LeRoy’s performance of Pink’s “Nobody Knows.”
- The stage manager’s audience and/or judge baton Although my proximity to the aforementioned Stacy fan club may be skewing my perceptions a bit, the oft-sobbing single mom was also a clear audience favorite. No one seemed too thrilled with Simon’s negative critique of her outfit and song choice, and that displeasure appeared to be goaded on by a headset-wearing stage manager standing in the audience pit just to Stacy’s right. He had a roll of yellow papers that he kept rotating in the air whenever Simon said something negative, as if he was encouraging us to boo.
- Dexter didn’t do himself any favors If Dexter Haygood’s funky milkshake performance of “Womanizer” and “I Kissed a Girl” didn’t already make clear the man just isn’t ready for prime time, I fear his odd behavior during the elimination sealed his fate. First, he stopped well short of his spotlight, then he wandered over to LeRoy’s spot for a moment, before finally making his way back to his mark.
- Inappropriately adorable audience confession of the night ”I’m in love with Simon, and I’m only 13, and I want to marry him.” Naturally, Simon gave the girl a kiss on the cheek.
- MELANIE! MELLLLANIEEEEEEEEE! I have rarely heard an audience anywhere as united in support of destroying the dreams of two wildly telegenic, mildly talented wannabe pop divas as the Xanadome was last night.
Post Show Simon Interview:
After “The X-Factor’s” first live show, Simon Cowell talks with Access about the tension between the judges. So, which judge is he worried about more? Plus, L.A. Reid jumps in on the interview and discusses with Simon about their heated moments.
Post show: L.A. Reid
‘We’ve Eliminated The Questionable Talent!’
