Having been so successful and appealing in England, America has been captivated by such success and built its own version of the show “The X Factor.”
“The X Factor” provides competition to those interested in expressing their singing talents. The goal is to win the competition and receive the 5 million dollar grand prize and a recording contract with one of the more famous companies in the singing market.
Providing the stardom in this competition is not only the talented singers, but also the already renowned judges. Simon Cowell, alum of “American Idol”, has come to provide the viewers with his sharp, yet comical, criticism. Paula Abdul, also from “American Idol,” provides subtlety and consistency when judging the contestants. New to judging are three accomplished singers and producers; Cheryl Cole, a singer and songwriter, Nicole Sherzinger, a singer from The Pussycat Dolls, and producer L.A. Reid, all of whom will judge alongside Cowell and Abdul. Now airing on Fox on Wednesdays and Thursdays, viewers highly regarded the show as the new “American Idol”. 
Cowell expected the show to receive up to 20 million viewers by the first show– however, this number was not attained. Cowell referred to that situation as humbling. He later stated in an interview with Access Hollywood that he fully expects his new show to flourish in the midst of a slow start. Moving coast to coast, from Los Angeles to Miami, “X Factor” will travel to six cities across America in hopes of choosing the most talented contestants to reach the finals. “The X Factor” has already provided viewers with jaw-dropping performances and eye-raising ones as well.
Contestants range anywhere from 15 to 61 years old, and the various acts make it impossible to predict what might happen next. CHS students were asked whether they also enjoyed this new variety show. After taking a survey of about 50 CHS students, the overwhelming consensus was a yes. 48 of these students convincingly reiterated that “The X Factor” was their new “American Idol”. Many of these students were torn as to why they love the new show, but in the end they all agreed to one idea; “The X Factor” is more entertaining and unique than “American Idol.”
“The contestants on ‘The X Factor’ have been much more talented than the contestants on ‘American Idol,’” junior Greg Ginos said. “The quality of the voices has gone from sub-par to outstanding.”
A vast majority had one reason as to why “The X Factor” was more appealing: Simon Cowell. Influential, charismatic, and successful are all characteristics that Cowell possesses. CHS students were particularly swayed by the efforts Cowell put into Idol and the amazing results he produced.
“‘American Idol’ was one of my more favorite shows when Simon Cowell played a prominent role in it,” junior Matthew Milbourn said. “However, ‘The X Factor’ has gone above and beyond recruiting their judges.”
“American Idol” is now becoming far less relevant because of its less superior quality of judges and contestants on the show. Also, while “American Idol” restricts its competition to solo singers, “The X Factor” welcomes group singers to the stage. Contestants will also be singing in front of thousands of fans on a stage for the audition in “The X Factor”, while “Idol” contestants sing in a small, compact hotel room. This change may attract contestants looking for their first taste of stardom.
It seems “X Factor” may very well dethrone “American Idol” as the king of singing competitions.