‘The X Factor’ USA premiere review: Rion Paige, Alex & Sierra, Lillie McCloud early favorites

“The X Factor” is back … and should we care? You know that this is probably the most-overplayed genre of television, and it feels like we really just got through with “The Voice” and “American Idol.” Last year, the show had some good talent, but so much of it was buried beneath a mountain of nonsense that included product placement, Khloe Kardashian, and Britney Spears awkwardly leaning into her microphone to give five seconds of feedback. No me gusta.

So we were interested to see how the new judging panel would do in this re-reboot of a show that Simon Cowell originally claimed would get 20 million viewers a night. Overall, it actually was an improvement from the first two seasons. The editing was quick and crisp, the judges did not try to fight each other for the spotlight, and at only an hour long, it did not feel bloated. We saw some contestants, traveled around the country, and then saw more. Also, there were some genuinely good people in here that didn’t make us think that there is a talent pool still out there.

Of course, not everything here is sunshine and rainbows. Before we get to the contestants, here are a few things that annoyed us greatly about what we saw tonight:

1. More wide-pans of random contestants in the street yelling “I have the X Factor!” while waving desperately for screen time. No, most of you don’t. Most of you are probably awful.

2. Calling people “stars” that may be eliminated in boot camp.

3. The show choosing this year to remind us every performance of what category each contestant is in. Do we really need a visual cue for who is a man or a woman? Groups are easy to figure out by counting, and you just have to look at the age to figure out the Overs.

The advancing contestants

Carlito Olivero – This guy claims that he wants to be the Latino Chris Brown … let’s hope not. Then, he went and sang a song by Rihanna. We know that it’s not a good thing to dwell, but this guy just makes it so easy. He had a decent voice, but there were good notes in here along with over-praise from the judges. He’s not a star yet, guys. Take a deep breath.

Lillie McCloud – She has a sick (in a cool way) afro, and may be the only 54-year old woman alive who dresses like Catwoman when they audition. But, that voice! Incredible! We’re not even exaggerating here like the judges usually do. She’s going to be someone who does very well in the Overs this year. Think the live shows for sure.

Alex & Sierra – We really like these two. They’re dating, though, which may cause a problem if they ever break up. Sierra’s probably a better singer than Alex, but even he has a raspy Jason Mraz-like voice, and most importantly, they got better as they went along. We had this paralyzing fear that he was going to propose afterwards, and we’re so glad that it didn’t happen. It’s just an extra layer of corny we don’t need.

Rion Paige – Rion’s one of those “inspirational stories,” but we dig her because she didn’t come on stage holding a sign saying that you should feel sorry for her. She’s a little young, but the cool thing about her is that we think she seems down to improve. We think she’ll work hard, and be a huge asset for a team if she makes it far enough. The Carrie Underwood comparison? A little much for now.

The unfortunate

Sally Hessnice – The nicest thing about Sally is that she’s nice. The voice is more of nails screeching on chalkboard. Why are we embarrassing such a nice lady on TV? By the way, we have a video here if you really want to relive this again.

Who was your favorite from tonight’s “X Factor” premiere, and did you dig the show as a whole? As always, we want to hear some of your thoughts below!

Photo: Fox