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Hollywood Reporter: Nicole Scherzinger's Resurrection on 'X Factor' U.K.
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/print/396572
Despite a dip in ratings, the Saturday night mainstay boasts one shining star: a Pussycat Doll dumped from the U.S. version of the Simon Cowell series.
It hasn't been a banner year for The X Factor U.K. The series, whose performance show airs on Saturday nights, has been averaging eight million viewers, a significant drop from the 14 million of 2010 -- Simon Cowell's last year as a judge. As for the contestants, they're a largely generic lot, with the likely winner a former cruise-ship singer beloved by the natio'’s grandmothers.
But while the 2012 season may not have discovered many future hit-makers, it has unearthed a bright shining star: Nicole Scherzinger. The 34-year-old former Pussycat Doll is no stranger to American singing competitions -- two seasons on The Sing-Off, an unhappy one on the U.S. X Factor, not to mention her own start as a contestant on a star-searching reality show, 2001's Popstars -- but, in her first stint judging on a British panel and mentoring a trio of male singers, she's been nothing short of a revelation.
The version of Nicole Scherzinger on U.K.'s X Factor is, for one, funny -- repeatedly begging "humans and babies" for their votes, becoming fluent in the slang of Essex (England's New Jersey) and cryptically informing cruise singer Chris Maloney, "I'm more of a Cocoa Puffs girl and you're giving me vanilla skim milk on top of a Corn Flake." She's also an appealingly game participant in the series' real-lives-of-the-finalists video segments, happily wielding the price scanner in a British grocery store, the employer of one of her acts, and downing a full pint of beer in the pub frequented by another.
Something else Scherzinger brings to the, er, table: the mouth of a sailor. When host Dermot O'Leary innocently asks the standard pressure-on-the-contestants question, for example, Scherzinger drawled, "The competition is stiff, so everyone has to go hard." Complimenting her flamboyant protege, Rylan Clark, on a performance dominated by crotch-thrusting choreography, she lets loose her inner drag-queen, exulting, "You didn't just spread love on that stage, honey, you sprayed love!" And in a segment, aired on the show's looser, recap edition The Xtra Factor, Scherzinger and her charge James Arthur were depicted in rehearsal cheerfully improvising their way through a song called "Vagina and Hairy Balls."
Scherzinger's raucous, impassioned stewardship of her acts -- a couple of weeks ago she introduced Arthur as "James 'effin' Arthur" -- made her the first judge in the series' nine-year history to save all of her acts from elimination all the way up to the semi-final. And although Take That's Gary Barlow is the de facto head judge, when Scherzinger opens her mouth to speak, the people of the United Kingdom lean forward in their seats a little bit to listen.
In fact, the only thing the crowd-pleasing, scene-stealing Scherzinger of the U.K. X Factor has in common with the babbling, beaten-down one from the American version is her name. Granted, Scherzinger has an affinity with the U.K.: she dates Formula One star Lewis Hamilton and the British charts have given her solo efforts a warmer reception than her homeland ("Don't Hold Your Breath," a single from her 2011 album, Killer Love, went to No. 1).
But chart success isn't the only reason for the night-and-day difference between her performances on the two shows. In Britain, there's no one to make her feel bad, put her down, condescend to her and ignore her. In other words, there's no Simon Cowell -- or a Cowell-dominated panel where there are a few designated roles for a female: she can be a punching bag (Paula Abdul), a pet (Cheryl Cole), a tolerable irritant (Demi Lovato), a dancing monkey (Abdul again), a stunningly unspectacular elephant in the room (Britney Spears), or she can just be invisible (Kara DioGuardi, Ellen Degeneres).
The Nicole Scherzinger currently wowing the Brits was never given a chance to shine in the joyless U.S. iteration because her role was already cast in stone. If she didn't shower praise on female contestants, she was branded jealous and catty. If she attempted to defend herself in confrontations with Cowell -- admittedly not her strong point -- she was lambasted as spacey and inarticulate. Ultimately, the only impression Scherzinger left in her single season on the American show was that she made a child cry. Cowell showed enough foresight to ship her off to the U.K., but what a waste of a great national resource.
Despite a dip in ratings, the Saturday night mainstay boasts one shining star: a Pussycat Doll dumped from the U.S. version of the Simon Cowell series.
It hasn't been a banner year for The X Factor U.K. The series, whose performance show airs on Saturday nights, has been averaging eight million viewers, a significant drop from the 14 million of 2010 -- Simon Cowell's last year as a judge. As for the contestants, they're a largely generic lot, with the likely winner a former cruise-ship singer beloved by the natio'’s grandmothers.
But while the 2012 season may not have discovered many future hit-makers, it has unearthed a bright shining star: Nicole Scherzinger. The 34-year-old former Pussycat Doll is no stranger to American singing competitions -- two seasons on The Sing-Off, an unhappy one on the U.S. X Factor, not to mention her own start as a contestant on a star-searching reality show, 2001's Popstars -- but, in her first stint judging on a British panel and mentoring a trio of male singers, she's been nothing short of a revelation.
The version of Nicole Scherzinger on U.K.'s X Factor is, for one, funny -- repeatedly begging "humans and babies" for their votes, becoming fluent in the slang of Essex (England's New Jersey) and cryptically informing cruise singer Chris Maloney, "I'm more of a Cocoa Puffs girl and you're giving me vanilla skim milk on top of a Corn Flake." She's also an appealingly game participant in the series' real-lives-of-the-finalists video segments, happily wielding the price scanner in a British grocery store, the employer of one of her acts, and downing a full pint of beer in the pub frequented by another.
Something else Scherzinger brings to the, er, table: the mouth of a sailor. When host Dermot O'Leary innocently asks the standard pressure-on-the-contestants question, for example, Scherzinger drawled, "The competition is stiff, so everyone has to go hard." Complimenting her flamboyant protege, Rylan Clark, on a performance dominated by crotch-thrusting choreography, she lets loose her inner drag-queen, exulting, "You didn't just spread love on that stage, honey, you sprayed love!" And in a segment, aired on the show's looser, recap edition The Xtra Factor, Scherzinger and her charge James Arthur were depicted in rehearsal cheerfully improvising their way through a song called "Vagina and Hairy Balls."
Scherzinger's raucous, impassioned stewardship of her acts -- a couple of weeks ago she introduced Arthur as "James 'effin' Arthur" -- made her the first judge in the series' nine-year history to save all of her acts from elimination all the way up to the semi-final. And although Take That's Gary Barlow is the de facto head judge, when Scherzinger opens her mouth to speak, the people of the United Kingdom lean forward in their seats a little bit to listen.
In fact, the only thing the crowd-pleasing, scene-stealing Scherzinger of the U.K. X Factor has in common with the babbling, beaten-down one from the American version is her name. Granted, Scherzinger has an affinity with the U.K.: she dates Formula One star Lewis Hamilton and the British charts have given her solo efforts a warmer reception than her homeland ("Don't Hold Your Breath," a single from her 2011 album, Killer Love, went to No. 1).
But chart success isn't the only reason for the night-and-day difference between her performances on the two shows. In Britain, there's no one to make her feel bad, put her down, condescend to her and ignore her. In other words, there's no Simon Cowell -- or a Cowell-dominated panel where there are a few designated roles for a female: she can be a punching bag (Paula Abdul), a pet (Cheryl Cole), a tolerable irritant (Demi Lovato), a dancing monkey (Abdul again), a stunningly unspectacular elephant in the room (Britney Spears), or she can just be invisible (Kara DioGuardi, Ellen Degeneres).
The Nicole Scherzinger currently wowing the Brits was never given a chance to shine in the joyless U.S. iteration because her role was already cast in stone. If she didn't shower praise on female contestants, she was branded jealous and catty. If she attempted to defend herself in confrontations with Cowell -- admittedly not her strong point -- she was lambasted as spacey and inarticulate. Ultimately, the only impression Scherzinger left in her single season on the American show was that she made a child cry. Cowell showed enough foresight to ship her off to the U.K., but what a waste of a great national resource.
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Comments
Tulisa is useless as ever... (although the flak she gets is probably a bit much)
Louis is just Louis, show probably wouldn't be the same without his antics...
Nicole is truly the highlight of the judging panel.... Whereas last year she came across as fake and desperate, showcasing a new personality each night (each one increasingly more irritating), visibly in torment over her pathetic solo music career........................ this year, she's basically pulled a Katie Waissel "sod it", letting go of all the pressures and focusing instead on being herself.
(Kudos to her for listening to my advice haha)
What did you expect to be? England's Washington, D.C.??!
I've never really been a fan but she's winning me over.
I agree so much with this. The U.S. has never been crazy about Nicole and will find any excuse to criticize her. I also like that the article has picked up on Cowell's chauvinistic tendencies.
^ I agree with this. As much as I would love to see Simon come back to the UK show, I'm not sure Nicole would be as entertaining. As much as people make out Gary's head judge - he isn't really. All four judges are even on the UK show. There's no one judge more important than the other. It's a bit like the boss is away and they can do anything they like.
If Simon was there he would make fun of Nicole (and not in a good way) and imagine if Cheryl was there too... I think the panel would be very divided.
It's similar to when Cheryl first started in 2008, people were hesistant but she won them over. I would love if either James or Jahmene won for her sake. If the X Factor does come back next year (I'm sure it will) I really hope Nicole is still on the panel.