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Article IndexBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Simon Cowell’s long-awaited “X Factor" premiered on Fox this week. It is a contest for unsigned solo singers and groups with a grand prize of $5 million and a recording contract. Paula Abdul has said the show is not like “American Idol.”
Be that as it may, the first contestant was a 13-year-old named Rachel Crow who performed “Mercy” by Duffy, to a rousing audience response. Simon Cowell said that "The X Factor" had debated the minimum age for contestants, and decided on 13. "You were the reason why we took the age down," he said to Crow, according to Billboard.com.
Not everything on "The X Factor: was fit for children’s eyes, or even adults. According to EW.com, the Parent’s Television Council has filed a Federal Communications Commission complaint against X Factor for showing a contestant exposing himself on stage.
In a pre-taped segment from the show's premiere, 43-year old contestant Geo Godley dropped his pants and sang for the judges and studio audience while apparently uncovered. Paula Abdul walked off the stage and said the performance “literally made me sick.”
Examiner.com reported that others contestants included a 30-year-old hotel performer named Siameze Floyd, who shrieked a version of Rick James' "Give It to Me Baby," a married couple of seniors who performed the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," and 42-year-old Stacy Francis' passionate rendition of Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Cowell called it one of the best auditions he'd ever seen.
