X-Factor Live Review 2012

Let me start off by saying I was very disappointed with last night's X-Factor live performance show.  X-Factor is the only singing show I watch right now and while it is not perfect, I do enjoy it.  There were many things that ruined it for me last night.

One was the audio mixing.  Either the crowd was way too loud or they just recorded the noise from the crowd too much because last night the constant screams from the audience were unbearable.  And they were at inappropriate times.  Some cheering for your favorite singer when they are introduced and when they finish their song is ok, but last night, judges would be in the middle of saying something and people would be screaming at the top of their lungs for no reason. The audio was mixed poorly as you could tell when pyrotechnics over shadowed the singers when they engaged.

Next we have the hosts, yes that is plural.  Why they thought they needed 2 people to be a host is beyond me.  There is absolutely no need for it. Khloe was awful right from the start.  Mario is ok but bland.  I would even take that Steve guy from last year over these 2 and I did not like that guy at all.  And you would think the host would introduce the singers right?  No, they introduce the judge who then introduces their singer.  Again, this does not make sense.

Then we have the judges.  LA and Simon are good.  Britney is annoying and always looks like she is in pain and not enjoying the show, not even when her own singers are performing.  Demi gives possibly the worst advice ever and is in no position to be mentoring people older than she is.  It seems like every bit of advice she gives to one of her singers brings them down and makes them worse.  For example last night she totally changed the looks for contestants such as Jennel, Paige, and Cece.  These girls were beautiful and had their own styles that worked for them.  Last night it's like Demi had them dress up for a bad Halloween party.

I found myself muting much of the show last night.  Every time the audience starts screaming, mute.  Every time Britney and Demi are giving critiques, mute.  

The show wasn't all bad.  Highlights in my opinion were Lyric Da Queen from Lyric 145 as well as Emblem3.  These 2 already seem like stars compared to the others who still seem like armatures.  I will tune in tonight to see how they handle the eliminations, but if these trends continue, I won't be watching this season much longer.   

UPDATE: I just tuned in to watch the results show and the producers did not learn from their mistakes in the first live show. The audience is still screaming throughout the entire show which makes it unwatchable.  Sorry Fox, but I'm not going to listen to people scream for 2 hours.