So at the last minute Simon Cowell has scrapped X Factor All Stars in place of X Factor The Band. A presumably exasperated ITV spokesperson said: “We are hugely excited to confirm The X Factor: The Band to air in December 2019 on ITV. "Simon Cowell and The X Factor have discovered some of the biggest pop groups in history, including One Direction, Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. Now the aim is to find the new superstar group – though now in record-breaking time." As if to compound this car crash, it's all set to take place around the week of the General Election. Spare a thought for the researchers currently frantic trying to sign up people to audition.
Simon saying that K Pop is huge so this "band" is gonna be creating a genre called UK Pop makes my skin literally crawl. Can we not just keep All Stars and put in all the iconic auditionees from over the years.
Was there really a need for a separate thread given this show hasn’t even been officially announced yet?
I'm not sure what's more official than ITV announcing it? Applications: https://www.itv.com/xfactor/apply/apply-now-for-the-x-factor-the-band
It's just getting embarrassing at this point, even the long drawn out death of Big Brother didn't quite seem this desperate. Simon's issue (well one of), is he just blows his load too early. He's always too quick to announce things and then when things change he has egg on his face. All this kind of drama should just be happening away from public eyes. It damages an already tarnished brand.
To be fair, Big Brother didn't seem this desperate because the quality remained consistent, and the Celebrity versions in particular were still really watchable.
If anything, the final civilian series of Big Brother was a return to form, so it did feel like it ended on a bit of a high.
I genuinely think people are going to be more inclined to apply for Little Mix's version. I mean, for starters, they're an actual established and successful group, secondly, it's a brand new show and format, and thirdly, we all know how ratings and views of The X Factor have dwindled over the years. I don't think the girls have anything to worry about.
No we asked for it. We just deserve so much better than this half heated idea that Simon and co are going to throw together in a month.
Do I apply and scam my way through this so I can report back to PJ? (Little Mix are already doing this so much better, they're saying 'boyband, girlband, mixed band, who knows!' whereas this is 'boy or girl band'. How is this going to work..)
Well, here's the video announcement. I guess Simon is really leaning into "UK-pop" despite already getting clowned for it.
It is fascinating what a shambles this has quickly descended into. Having said that if it gives us another Phixx and Clea I'm all for it.
It'll probably be the actual members of those groups auditioning. Clearly the X Factor brand is dying, but not quickly and certainly not with dignity.
Do we know what the format for this show is? Are they putting a group together or Is it for existing groups?
