April 12, 201115 yr Cowell quits X Factor: Pop mogul will put U.S. launch before UK show By Sara Nathan Last updated at 9:29 AM on 12th April 2011 Comments (18) Add to My Stories Double booked: Multi-millionaire Simon Cowell leaves X Factor as a judge after weeks of speculation Simon Cowell has told ITV chiefs that he will not be a judge on The X Factor in the UK this year. Executives at the network were embroiled in a desperate bid to keep the 51-year-old on the show after he said that filming both the U.S. and British versions at the same time would be too much. But an ITV insider said last night that the balancing act ‘is just not feasible’. The multi-millionaire leaves as a judge after weeks of speculation. Sources close to Cowell admitted that his decision to quit the UK show was partly down to health concerns. A friend said: ‘Everyone in his family is worried about his stress levels, he barely sleeps and has got a lot to juggle at the moment.’ Earlier this month, it was suggested that he had agreed to fit both shows into his hectic schedule, after meeting with ITV chief Peter Fincham. As the Mail revealed, ITV bosses even offered to pay for a private jet to whisk the star across the Atlantic every week. However, an ITV source said last night: ‘Cowell has been trying everything to make this work. More... Still Hungry Like The Wolf: Duran Duran's Roger Taylor says retiring is not an option as he talks about working with Mark Ronson on new album All You Need Is Now Simon Cowell's mother begs him: 'Slow down... you'll have a heart attack'London bound: Dannii Minogue and her precious cargo Ethan jet back to UK for X Factor talksHow Simon Cowell made a fortune from X Factor (thisismoney.co.uk) ‘ITV had told him that he didn’t need to do the auditions, just the live shows, but even so it is just not feasible. ‘So what will happen now is that Cowell will likely make an appearance towards the end of the UK series and appear at the final.’ It is bad news for the broadcaster, as the insider added: ‘ITV was really trying to get him to stay on the UK show ... it just won’t be the same without him.’ Leaving: Cheryl Cole, left, has been lined up with a role on the U.S. X Factor alongside Cowell, and is not due to return to the British show Two remaining: Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue will appear in the next series alongside two new judges, says Walsh COWELL'S FIVE SHOWS X Factor: Executive producer for show, he is lining up new judges and is not expected to return as a judgeUS X Factor: Heavily involved in planning and launch of the new show, expected to attend live auditions AND live finalsBritain's Got Talent: Producing AND appearing as a judge on the live stages of the showAmerica's Got Talent: Heavily involved in production Red Or Black: Ant and Dec will front his new £1million game show Two of the other judges on the British show, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue, have received their dates to film the next series, but have been told that changes could be made to the panel. Musician Miss Minogue, 39, flew back to Britain yesterday from her home in Melbourne with her nine-month-old son Ethan and boyfriend Kris Smith in tow, for talks with X Factor producers. Meanwhile music manager Louis Walsh admitted that Cowell was not set to return to the British X Factor this year, saying: ‘It will be me and Dannii on the UK show with two more people.’ The fourth judge on last year’s panel, Cheryl Cole, has been lined up with a role on the U.S. X Factor alongside Cowell, and is not due to return to the British show. However, she still does not know definitively whether she has won a judging position in the States. ITV recently paid Cowell £100million to keep The X Factor and talent show Britain’s Got Talent for the next three years. When he signed the deal in October, they knew he would be leaving Britain’s Got Talent – but thought he would be back for The X Factor. ITV chiefs rejected Cowell’s suggestion that the British X Factor return in January 2012. Instead, the series will run between August and December, which is exactly when the U.S. version will run. Last night an ITV spokesman said plans for this year’s X Factor ‘will be announced in due course’. Protective: Simon Cowell with his mother Julie, who has expressed concerns about her son's workload X FACTS: STAGE FOR ONE MILLION WANNABES Since the first series launched in September 2004, almost a million people have applied to be on The X Factor. In 2004 an average of 7.4million fans tuned in to each episode. By the seventh series last year it was reported to be 12.9million viewers. The show’s first winner Steve Brookstein drew 6million votes in the 2004 final before reaching number one with his first and only single, but by 2007 he was performing on the Portsmouth to Bilbao P&O cruise ferry. Leona Lewis is by far the most successful of the show’s stars. The Londoner has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and her second single Bleeding Love sold more than 200,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone. The show’s novelty acts often end up earning more than their more credible competitors. At the height of Jedward-mania, in 2009, the Irish twins, who came sixth in the show, were charging £40,000 for a three-song gig. Simon Cowell’s £10-a-roll black toilet paper raised a few eyebrows when spin-off show Xtra Factor’s presenter Holly Willoughby found it during filming at the mogul’s mansion in Los Angeles.
April 12, 201115 yr This is probably one of the nails in the X-Factor UK coffin, the other being the decision to bring in live audiences for the 1st round!
April 12, 201115 yr Author This is probably one of the nails in the X-Factor UK coffin, the other being the decision to bring in live audiences for the 1st round! And the biggest "nail" of all being a lack of real talent. Even Matt Cardle would have struggled to make the top ten of American Idol if he had entered it.:dozey: Wagner didn't exactly help the show's reputation, either.:rolleyes:
April 13, 201115 yr ^I've seen American Idol recently and couldn't believe how toned down it is compared to the X-Factor, I would go as far as to say I'd watch it again (But it's on one of those digital channels so I never know when it's on) as it's a great talent show- no fuss, no drama. If you were to shave the X-Factor down to actual musical ability, cut out constant promos, interviews, footage of what happened on last weeks show, footage of what happened during this week, judges desperately trying to give out their best hook lines, explosion noises despite it just being a fucking singing contest- you'd have about 15mins of actual singing. But all the in-between drama and shit is whats made it so popular, and I'm sure America will cream at the same format, it's going to be like American Idol x1million to the X-treme! I think X-Factor US will most likely be gigantic, I understand they already have enough people watching the British version every year, but there's also a chance that it will be seen as sub-par Idol, gimmicky, and fail. Unlikely though as I bet the Idol format seems very boring at this stage, and while it's produced a lot more high quality singers, people want to see the tear-jerking stories, never-ending competitiveness and mindless explosion noises.
April 13, 201115 yr Author ^I've seen American Idol recently and couldn't believe how toned down it is compared to the X-Factor, I would go as far as to say I'd watch it again (But it's on one of those digital channels so I never know when it's on) as it's a great talent show- no fuss, no drama. If you were to shave the X-Factor down to actual musical ability, cut out constant promos, interviews, footage of what happened on last weeks show, footage of what happened during this week, judges desperately trying to give out their best hook lines, explosion noises despite it just being a fucking singing contest- you'd have about 15mins of actual singing. But all the in-between drama and shit is whats made it so popular, and I'm sure America will cream at the same format, it's going to be like American Idol x1million to the X-treme! I think X-Factor US will most likely be gigantic, I understand they already have enough people watching the British version every year, but there's also a chance that it will be seen as sub-par Idol, gimmicky, and fail. Unlikely though as I bet the Idol format seems very boring at this stage, and while it's produced a lot more high quality singers, people want to see the tear-jerking stories, never-ending competitiveness and mindless explosion noises. Which just goes to show how little idea "the public" actually have. They just want to revel in mediocrity. I'm not saying I would buy into any of the winners of American Idol, and I have certainly never become a fan of any of them (although Kelly Clarkson has proved herself to be extremely versatile over the years), but the standard is infinitely higher than that of the singers in Britain's X Factor. The top ten in American Idol all have undeniable singing talent, whether you like them or not. Also, American Idol now has a much better judging panel who all know what they're talking about because they've been there and done it themselves. X Factor, on the other hand, is just pure pantomime. If you like pantomime, then fine, but I don't.:dozey:
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