The X Factor 2021

[Alphableat]

It just... stopped having good ideas.

The move to auditions with an audience, the time it tried to be Gogglebox, pretending Louis was sacked and then bringing him back, the producer-engineered contestant drama. It all smelled a bit like shit smeared on the wall.

The Six Chair Challenge is the absolute worst of it though: a really horrible element added to the show for drama, which then couldn’t be removed because the producers have never been willing to tone it down for the sake of a better show.

 

[sugababesoverloaded]

Kerry Katona - Kevin Federline - Bradley from S club 7 - Fergie Ferguson

A perfect panel for this type of show.

 

[Stuart]

The big issue with X Factor was overexposure and media burnout. The show ran for the best part of 4mths from August to December. But prior to that, you had endless media speculation about who judges and hosts were going to be which started almost immediately after the series ended. People weren’t given a chance to breathe and the endless media hype is what eventually killed the series.

 

[Mike]

Still want The X Factor back?

 

[Matgo]

Still want The X Factor back?

You say that as if anyone does.

 

[steste]

If it was on this year, we would have got an absolutely chaotic performance of Good 4 U by some white 16 year old girl on lives. Heavy backing track, excessive dancers. Lauded by the judges. Simon making some patronising comment about Olivia being 'one to watch' in the industry.

 

[MrJames]

Least surprising news ever but here we are:

 

[MrJames]

One thing I will say is that it’s a shame that a show that was once a behemoth of British pop culture just sort of… went away.

 

[Mike]

One thing I will say is that it’s a shame that a show that was once a behemoth of British pop culture just sort of… went away.

I think someone pointed out before that its ratings by the end of its lifespan still compared favourably with what The Voice gets, but since The Voice never had that "cultural behemoth" status in the first place that comparison is something of a red herring. As with Big Brother, when you've been the show everyone is talking about, there's nowhere to go but down.

No winning formula lasts forever - even BGT, Strictly and I'm A Celebrity will reach the end of their useful lives eventually - but this show relied on the same old tricks for a very long time and any changes they did make were largely for the worse.

 

[heartmightmelt]

And without fail Twitter is suddenly full of middle-aged men who haven't bought a single since 1993 complaining about how The X Factor ruined the charts.

 

[bestinase]

Like when Big Brother finished, it's quite a feeling to realise you've spent nearly 20 years watching one show and can pinpoint specific moments of your life through it. For at least a decade in its peak years it was something that made dark cold winter nights just that little bit more bearable and enjoyable.

That aside, though: good riddance.

 

[AcerBenII]

The story does manage to completely contradict itself though, by saying that it might come back in 2023. I think that's more likely.

 

[Vashetti]

Good. It was beyond repair when they brought on the TOWIE producer, and suddenly they had crystal clear recordings of members of the crowd having totally-not-scripted/prompted conversations designed to steer viewers' opinions.

 

[beautyneverlies]

The story does manage to completely contradict itself though, by saying that it might come back in 2023. I think that's more likely.

A band that came second in the 2017 edition of the Italian X Factor currently have two songs in the UK Top Ten! And won Eurovision in 2021!
However, the brand does seem to be toxic in the UK (Rebecca Ferguson's tweets etc.)

 

[Deleted member 31207]

But I bet they won’t be able to find a bigger ratings / viewing hit like the X factor was again for Saturday nights.

 

[-SNS-]

It’s for the best but I still feel sad that they never gave it a big “final series” send off, rather than the crappy celebrity and pop group series that they ended with

 

[Suburbia]

I think to bring the show back in a 2020s climate would be difficult, especially with rising criticisms and previous contestants wanting answers for the way they were treated. The makers of this show are fully aware that the series has become a pandora's box that's best left alone.

 

[AcerBenII]

Whilst there's clearly a good chance that Cowell won't bring it back, I don't know how “There are no current plans for the next series of The X Factor at this stage" proves the thing has been cancelled.

 

[Mike]

I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption that a show which used to air annually, hasn't been on for three years and no-one plans to bring back any time soon has been cancelled.

Also, "no current plans at this stage" is a tautology, get some better spokespeople FFS.

 

[Aneres11]

Give it a couple of years, they will bring back an all new singing talent show and start again with something under a new name, new format etc.
I do still feel there is an audience for a singing show, but it needs to go right back to basics.

Even if they did it like the original Popstars where it was all pre-recorded and the audience was a fly on the wall rather than the weekly live monster it became. I dunno. I’m sad and glad all at once.