BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS
Season 3 Premiere of The X Factor
This appears to be the make-or-break third season for the U.S. edition of The X Factor, which has once again been given a radical retooling by Simon Cowell, as he’s replaced Britney Spears and L.A. Reid with Kelly Rowland (who worked on the U.K. version of the show in 2011) and Paulina Rubio (who was a coach on the Mexican edition of The Voice), while retaining Demi Lovato and his bad self on the judges’ panel.
The X Factor returns to Fox tonight, with a second audition episode airing on Thursday. The Voice season kicks off on 9/23, with Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green rejoining Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. NBC hopes the return of the duo will enable the show to regain the momentum it lost in the spring, when Shakira and Usher served as replacement coaches.
While The X Factor has yet to gain traction or enhance the careers of its judges, its hoary rival American Idol has also experienced significant onstage and behind-the-scenes turnover (including the exit of chief mentor Iovine) amid dramatically declining ratings, though the show has spun off two successful acts in Scotty McCreery and Phillip Phillips in recent years.
Idol will reappear on Fox in January, with former mentor Harry Connick Jr. joining lone incumbent Keith Urban and the returning Jennifer Lopez on the judging panel. Connick got the gig after Dr. Luke backed out and Scooter Braun turned down an offer for what he described as business reasons. The show has experienced significant turnover with the departures of Jimmy Iovine (who’ll be replaced as chief mentor by former judge Randy Jackson), executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, and Fox reality head Mike Darnell, along with one-and-done judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.
Now let's get this party started.
