Nicole Scherzinger

The X Factor: Bye-bye, auditions

Thursday marked the fourth and final audition episode of Fox’s “The X Factor,” which means now we can start getting down to the business of the show. Truthfully, four audition episodes are plenty. Unlike “American Idol,” which drags on the audition rounds for weeks and weeks — last time around they were 31 weeks, I … Continue Reading →

The X Factor: Settling into its groove

“The X Factor” aired its third episode on Wednesday night, and as Oasis once sang, “It’s Gettin’ Better (Man!!)” The show is settling into a comfortable groove, and Wednesday’s episode was its best installment yet. The show found a good balance between gag singers (low) and actual, worthwhile auditions (high); wrestled some drama out of … Continue Reading →

The X Factor: Back down to Earth

“The X Factor” continued on Thursday with the second installment of its two-part premiere, and considering the hardly-”Idol”-size ratings of Wednesday’s debut, the overblown intro music that opened the show (“O Fortuna!”) felt slightly out-of-place. The premiere episode’s ratings — it pulled about 12.5 million viewers, roughly half the viewership of “American Idol” — were … Continue Reading →

X Factor judges L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. (Fox TV)

The X Factor premieres: Wait, that's it?

Fox’s highly touted “The X Factor” premiered Wednesday, and as of press time, it had failed to alter the course of human history. This is somewhat surprising, considering “The X Factor” has been perceived as a potential reality TV game changer since Simon Cowell left “American Idol” after nine hugely successful seasons to bring his … Continue Reading →