Review of Ratings after First Week

The ratings are in, and the numbers for X-Factor are pretty good...or are they? The ratings havn't quite held up to Simon Cowell's expectations. Perhaps 20 million viewers was setting the bar a tad high, but I am not sure I would be completely down on having 12.5 on both nights in the first week. Sure they were not the highest rating on either night, but they lost to proven shows. People still didn't know exactly what to expect from the X-Factor. As the weeks go on, perhaps the word of mouth factor will begin to play a role and more viewers will tune in. I think it is too early on for Cowell to be referring to this season as a failure.

 As for the format of the show being similar to that of American Idol, it turns out that only auditions seem to be where the similarities end. It was revealed last week that the show will pass people through to what is being called "Boot Camp". I am not sure exactly what this will entail, but I am sure it will be the final narrowing of the field before the fan voting begins. This also might be where the newest twist comes in. Each of the 4 judges are going to become coaches for different categories. There will be a male, female, group and over 30 category. Each judge will coach the people that fit into their category. So it starts to be like "The Voice" in that regard. Whether or not the format will be exactly the same as The Voice is yet to be seen. My guess is that it will not be, but only time will tell.

So to wrap this weeks blog up, we have learned that the format is not exactly like that of American Idol and that the ratings are good, but not up to par with what was expected. I don't want to rule anything a failure though until the fan voting gets involved because I think that could be when the show hits its stride. One more thing to pay attention to when tuning in, the bit of a rivalry Simon and L.A. are developing when it comes to who to let through. It seems both look at the contestants in different ways. This is comical at this point of the show because they are just passing people through to boot camp. But when they assume the coaching role, I'm curious to see if their coaching tactics are as far apart as their opinions of the auditions. Just something to consider and look forward to.