‘The X Factor’ UK: Simon Cowell denies return; Gary Barlow, Tulisa’s status unclear
For all of the British tabloids desperate for Simon Cowell to return, they all have egg on their faces now after writing for much of the past five months that the music mogul was considering coming back to “The X Factor” UK in an effort to help the show’s sagging ratings. While speaking at the “Britain’s Got Talent” launch over the weekend, the world’s most-famous judge confirmed that he won’t be back on the show that he created a decade ago, and it does not actually feel as though it was ever in the cards for him.
Why? As Simon explained to reporters, it is not exactly easy to travel from one show to the next every week while still giving the contestants the love and the mentoring that they need:
“It’s all to do with timing. It would be impossible to do the English show and the American show together. You’d just be knackered and it wouldn’t work.”
While two judges on “Dancing with the Stars” in Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman do alternate between this show and “Strictly Come Dancing” in the UK, they can do so without a problem since they are not actively involved in the performances every week. It’s a little bit different with Simon.
As for the future of “The X Factor” judging panel in Britain, Gary Barlow is likely to return given his popularity around Great Britain with the success of Take That (and he also happens to be a great judge). The same can be said for Nicole Scherzinger, who drew plenty of media coverage with some crazy quotes and antics during the live show. As for Tulia and Louis Walsh, the jury’s still out, but we admit that we actually really like both of them (even if Louis often says the same thing time and time again). The panel has fun and also fights with each other, and we would be thrilled here in America to have a group of judges so entertaining. Nicole was terrible with Simon on the American show, so bringing him back was not really the answer to begin with.
What the tabloids really need to realize at this point is that the declining “X Factor” ratings has more to do with trends in TV than anything else. It’s a show that requires a two-night commitment for most of the season, and with “The Voice” UK also on the air now, the market is saturated even more than it was when “Britain’s Got Talent” was the only other show to include singing.
What do you want to see happen on “The X Factor” UK next year? If you want to read some more notes on past contestants Union J and James Arthur, you can do so here.
Photo: ITV