The Premiere of The X Factor (US) Season 2

Season 2 of the X Factor (US) premiered Wednesday, September 12 with two new judges and two new hosts.

I am a huge fan of American Idol. Have watched it since season one. What I was never a fan of was the fact that there is an age limit and only solo acts can compete. If you are 29 and older or are in a group or band you can't compete in the show.

That's where the X Factor (US) differed. If people were in a band or a group they could be a part of the show. And with no upper age limit anyone could compete. People well into their years were able to compete in the show if they so chose and that is the way it should be. There should be no age limit on talent. If you got it you got it. Of course those that were under twelve weren't eligible to be a part of the show. While that does make sense to a degree I still think it was wrong to do that because there are some extremely talented kids out there, those that are even better than teens or adults, that I think deserve a shot. By not allowing them to compete we missed out on some great talent that could have grown into something phenomenal as the years went by.

Having people from all age groups (12-16, 17- 24, 25 and over) compete made the show more interesting and so did having solo acts together with groups and bands. And having them being broken up into groups (girls, boys, over 30s, and groups) with each group having one of the judges as their mentor made it even more exciting to watch the show. It became not just a competition among the individual acts but also a competition among each group and each mentor.

Season one Simon Cowell mentored the girls, L.A Reid mentored the boys, Paula Abdul mentored the groups, and Nicole Scherzinger mentored the over 30s. It was Melanie Amaro from Simon Cowell's group who was crowned the winner. And it must have felt amazing and also unbelievable seeing as how originally she never made it to the Final 12 due to Simon Cowell's mistake of not letting her through. It was a shock to all when we learned that he had sent her home. It was a good decision on his part to ask her back and in the end that made him a winner.

I was shocked when I found out that Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger were not going to be part of the second season. But that was for the best. Having new judges made things more interesting and exciting and brought something new to the show and the judge's table. It proved to be an awesome season.

During season two there were two hosts instead of one. Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian Odom were cast for the job. Turns out season one was supposed to have two hosts as well (Steve Jones and Nicole Scherzinger) but they ended up with only one host (Steve Jones) when judge Sheryl Cole was removed from the judging panel and Nicole Scherzinger was made to take her place.

I don't see a reason to have two hosts. One is definitely enough. Look at American Idol. The first season there were two hosts - Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman - but come second season Brian Dunkleman was let go and that was the right move. There was no need for two hosts and he wasn't even a great host either. I didn't like him one bit. Ryan Seacrest, however, was an awesome host and he proved it every year.

When it comes to competitions like the X Factor (US) or American Idol for that matter, while it is great to actually win, whether a contestant wins or not doesn't really matter. Once contestants get to the Final 12 they already become winners. They get noticed, build a huge following and then are able to land record deals, forever changing their lives.

Look at season one. Astro, Marcus Canty and Chris Rene (mentored by L.A Reid) didn't win the show yet they all walked away with record deals. Yes, it was their mentor L.A Reid who signed them but still they got record deals, which was incredible for them. Simon Cowell's girl Rachel Crow signed a record deal and released her first EP and Drew Ryniewicz (known as Drew on the show and also part of Simon's group) was working on her debut album, which meant that she was signed too. And others were also working on writing and recording music like Josh Krajcik from Nicole Scherzinger's group.