‘The X Factor’ notes: Louis Walsh returns; plus, Alex & Sierra, Drew Ryniewicz, and more

We start this edition of “The X Factor” notes with some breaking news coming out of the UK that so many people likely saw coming: Louis Walsh is coming back for another season as a judge.

In an interview with 2FM, Walsh confirmed that he just signed a deal to return for the 11th season and is “very happy” to get the deal done. We’re admittedly of mixed opinion about it. There are times when Louis has some funny lines, but he also has so many cliche quotes that we just want to roll our eyes at. Plus, his acts do not typically win, and getting someone like an Olly Murs may have helped to bring in more viewers.

With this, we now have almost entirely the same panel we did years ago, except with no Dannii Minogue. Mel B is rumored to take the final spot, but that has not been confirmed just yet.

As for some other updates related to the show…

See Alex & Sierra – Are you going to be in the New York City area on June 5? Well, the most-recent winners are going to be at the Southstreet Seaport at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. These two are gearing up to do more gigs now that they are getting closer to releasing an album, and their lyric video for “Scarecrow” is out. (Click here in the event that you haven’t see it yet.)

Season 1 updates – This has been a fairly productive May when it comes to some of the younger contestants from the US show’s first season. Astro, who has gotten into acting more lately, landed a role in the new Fox series “Red Band Society” (which will be on the air this fall). Now, you can also listen below to “More,” a new song from Drew Ryniewicz (who eventually dropped her last name for the show). It’s a nice bit of nostalgia for those who remember the first season, and are wondering what she has been up to. (We were shocked by her elimination when it happened.)

For some more TV updates worth singing about now, we suggest signing up for our CarterMatt Newsletter today.

Photo: ITV