In case you have been living under a rock, then you haven’t heard that Simon Cowell is bringing his British TV hit “The X Factor” to the US next year. This made me think though what makes it different from American Idol. Well I found out if the US version is anything like the British version this show will be at least ten times better than American Idol for the following reasons.
UK X Factor Favorite Rebecca Ferguson
What To Know About X Factor
1. The contestants are actually good. I have been watching this season of the UK X Factor and for the most part everyone they put through to each round are really good performers. This past season of American Idol was a joke with some of the people that were put through to the final 24 and the season before had the same result.
2. Boot camp is better than hell week. In this boot camp, they literally sing every day in the same fashion as American Idol but they also are made to dance to see who can be an actual full-fledged pop star. They aren’t eliminated on this day but it does influence the judges choice.
3. The contestants are in categories. The contestants are split into four categories in this show. The categories are: the girls 16-24, the boys 16-24, the over 28s, and the groups. You might be wondering what the point of having all these categories is. Well, this goes into the next reason.
The Judges of UK’s X Factor
4. Judges as Mentors. In this show the judges actually have a bigger role than just talking during the live shows. They mentor the final 12 acts. Each judge takes three acts from the category they were given after bootcamp. That is when the final 36 contestants already split into groups go to the Judges house.
Judge Dannii Minogue with guest at Judge’s House
5. Judges house. This element of the competition is really cool. The different acts go to the judge that will be mentoring their categorys house. It is usually some place really awesome that only someone with a lot of money can go to. At the judges house the contestants fight for a final position in the category. Well not literally fight but sing for a position in the live shows. The judge along with a special guest of their choice to help make that difficult decision.
X Factor favorite Cher Lloyd performs during the live show
6. The live show itself. You might its going to be like American Idol where they sing a song based on a theme and get judged. This is true but their whole week revolves around it. Their mentor chooses the song they fell will fit their acts for that week’s theme. They also get to go through the process of having choreography for their performance. This is where it differs from American Idol. The contestants have an actual glimpse of what it could be like if they win the competition. In a regular performance there are fireworks and a large number of back up dancers.
Katie Waissel and Aiden Grimshaw facing elimination
7. The elimination process. The actual process is what gets me to like the show. Before the contestants reach the final 5 the judges choose between the bottom two public vote getters which one to send home. However this is not until both of the bottom acts get to do a sing off for survival in the competition. If the judges cannot reach a majority, however, then it goes into deadlock and the person going home is decided by the public vote. This is why I like the show. In American Idol, if a popular singer had an off week they were eliminated if they got the least votes while a really sucky person got to stay in the competition.
This show is going to be a hit if they keep this format or if they don’t. It would just be good to see a show that used their judges to their full advantage instead of just having them judge. Just keep an eye out for more information about the X Factor.
