As you’re probably aware, Simon Cowell has started an American version of X-Factor. So now we’ll have America’s got Talent and X-Factor.
Since you guys have been living with both Britain’s got Talent and X-Factor for a while now, is there anything that distinguishes one from the other? Or, baring judges, are they pretty much the same?
Pretty different - as different as AI and AGT. If that counts as different given they’re both reality talent shows.
BGT has buzzers. X Factor has the judges competing with each other as mentors. The two shows feel different. X Factor is much more dramatic and serious.
OK, looking up X-Factor I see it is just a singing competition. I was under the impression it was more than that. :o My mistake.
Sounds kind of like The Voice, minus the swivel chairs.
X Factor is all about the judges. Get ready for a bajillion bullshit stories to regularly appear in the press about them all falling out etc. Simon Cowell is the master at getting these nonsense stories into the papers/mags etc.
The X-Factor follows much the same format as American Idol. These, in my opinion are the salient differences:
i. There are no upper age limits for contestants
ii. Groups (by which I mean vocal groups, not bands) are allowed to compete along with solo contestants
iii. When auditions are complete and finalists are picked, a certain number of finalists are picked from each type of act (in the UK these are Boys, Girls, Over 25s (or Over 30s from last year) and Groups - with four of each making it to the live finals)
iv. Each set of contestants are assigned one of the judges as a mentor, whose job it is to mould their acts into perfect little commercial artists - generally at least one act will rebel per season, deciding, with often hilarious effect, that they want to choose their own direction and ignore the mentor’s assistance
v. There’s also at least a couple of novelty acts (generally in each of the Groups and Over 25s categories), who become increasingly tedious as the season progresses
The live performance shows then begin as you’d be used to on AI - most weeks being themed by a genre or artist back catalogue (whichever has-been is trying to flog something that week). The acts perform, the audience votes and the bottom two acts are announced in a results show. How an act leaves is slightly different than AI, as it’s not necessarily the act with the fewest audience votes. The bottom two proceed to a sing off where they each perform a song of ‘their’ choice - generally the most annoying, emotionally cynical song their talent will allow. The judges then decide individually which of the two they want to send home - their choices often more political than not. If each act gets two judges votes, it is only then that the act with the fewest audience votes get sent home.
OB
Spot on summary! Paticularly:
The only merit in these acts is it allows the audience to vote them through wek after week in defiance of the judges’ views of their talents - much synthetic outrage then ensues, with many column inches in the tabloids. Simon Cowell declares the folly of it all while counting the additional money the extra votes have brought to him 
The first time this happened I laughed out loud. They had this big dramatic voiceover going “DEADLOCK!” and the studio lights changed colour.
Sounds interesting. And truth be told, I’ve never watched AI.
I know, you’re saying :eek: whaaaat?!
Anyway, I have seen and heard clips of Idol, and it seems the music is mostly bubblegum pop, or pop/other genre, like pop/rock, pop/country, ect*. Is X-Factor that limited, or do they have a wider variety of genres?
*I’ll have to admit, I was surprised listening to the song “Last Goodbye” from David Cook. I didn’t think an Idol contestant could rock.
No difference. They are both utter, utter, utter shit.
Nothing of any interest has come from either show, the only purpose is to line Simon Cowell’s pockets.
There is a Victorian bedlam-viewing pleasure to be had from watching the borderline mental-cases in the early rounds but after that?
It just becomes moderately talented people performing in a tolerable manner. They have half-an-hour of fame and then, quite rightly, fade away.
One last question, I think probably answered by Novelty Bobble, is, will it be like American Idol, where, with the exception of Kelly Clarkson, after someone wins you never, or almost never, hear from them again?
Yes.
Over here we say “with the exception of Leona Lewis”. 
If I was on any of those types of shows, I’d be praying for 2nd or 3rd place.
which sort of supports my point.
She is perfectly fine, looks nice, decent voice, nice person…but there is nothing particularly stand-out about her. The “X factor” and similar shows have spent the last decade auditioning millions of people and sifting for talent and she is the about the best they have come up with.
It rather confirms that it is not a vehicle for the interesting and/or groundbreaking.
I saw a YouTube clip of an early “Happy Mondays” TV performance and couldn’t help wishing for a time machine and transport a young Shaun Ryder into an X-factor audition. That would be fun.