Unless you live in dark hole underground, you can’t have failed to notice that this weekend hails the start of on the 10th series of Simon Cowell’s cash cow, The X Factor.
Same old judges with the addition of a former judge, same old format and yes, guess what? They’re looking for fresh talent that can sell out stadiums….
So yet again a selection of the UK’s weird and wonderful will stand before the judges to be told how rubbish or fantastic they are. So if we’ve seen it all before, what is it about this same old, tired format that will inevitably drag us back us in front of our TV screens for a regular Saturday night fix?
In spite of the fact that once winter kicks in a Saturday night in front of the telly is often the preferred option, the fact is, the X Factor is really good at PR. Firstly, once the new series begins the sob stories will begin to filter out and we all know the public loves a good sob story. Secondly, the show covers all bases regionally, so Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester will all get behind their own home grown talent. And finally, the successful last ten that make the live shows will inevitably include a novelty act that we all love to hate. Remember Rylan, Jedward and Wagner? Love them or loathe them, they all managed to grab the headlines and got the nation talking.
Personally, I prefer the sparkly jewel in the BBC’s Saturday crown, Strictly Come Dancing, so each year I vow to avoid the Karaoke show on the other channel. Do I get sucked in…….? Of course I do. PR’s a powerful thing!
