In XFactor USA’s first off-season, Simon Cowell may be showing signs of a significant lack of confidence…it could also just be another sign of his genius.
Being second best is never good enough for Mr. Cowell and he’s officially turned XFactor USA upside down in order to close the gap with the king of sing, the number one rated, American Idol. Some of these changes were expected, but there was one very big surprise in store as well.
Viewers had hoped for revenge on former judge Nicole Scherzinger for the frustration she caused and the tears she brought from favorite contestants, Rachel Crow and Drew Ryniewicz. Nicole could have saved either of these popular girls, but her immaturity and cowardice forced early exits for these contestants, even against Simon Cowell’s wishes. It seems that it was only a matter of time before Simon returned the favor. Namaste, Nicole.
Not as impactful, despite his seemingly important role as the host of the show, Steve Jones will also be leaving XFactor. This handsome and friendly guy didn’t add much to the production and certainly had very little X-Factor himself, but he did a competent job. When you trail your competition by six million viewers, the theory is that if you don’t add something, you’re subtracting. With this in mind, Steve got the axe. This also makes Cowell the only Brit on the show with an authoritative accent to match.
Now the big surprise. Paula Abdul has just announced that she is also leaving XFactor behind. She has given the impression that it was an amicable breakup, but a breakup nonetheless. It will be sad to see Paula go as she really did make a good match for Simon. They had some very warm and funny moments in between their usual squabbles and their old charm worked well to break up some very dry moments on the panel. On paper, losing Paula looks to be Cowell’s riskiest move yet, but it shows that Simon understands something fundamental about the success of his show: He’s got to have the X-Factor on the panel if he’s ever going to make one on the stage.