X Factor is back. Well, sort of! It’s team both in front of the camera and behind are back hard at work filming this year’s auditions.
It’s a bit different this year. There are three new judges. Louis Tomlinson, 1/4 of arguably the world’s most successful boyband One Direction, who has released three incredible singles, which show just how much promise he has in his career as a solo artist. He is an alumnus of the very show he is now a judge on.
Robbie Williams, 1/5 of another credibly successful boyband, Take That and a man who has seen huge success as a solo artist.
To round up the new judges is Ayda Field, a panellist on the popular ITV talk show Loose Women. She has appeared in numerous TV shows in both the UK and US. What adds an interesting dynamic to this years panel is both Robbie and Ayda are husband and wife.
And of course, show creator Simon Cowell is back.
What is interesting about this year’s panel is the unique insight both Tomlinson and Williams, in particular, can bring to the contestants about the industry as both are recording artists. Cowell as an executive within the industry perhaps brings a different take on things.
Auditions have been taping for a few days now and audience members are already getting a feel for what both Louis and Robbie are bringing to the table.
Louis has perhaps the most useful insight for the contestants of the show, having been exactly where they were. He auditioned for the show a few times, before eventually being put in a band with four other contestants ( Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik). They became known as One Direction, they came third on the show in 2010, after which they signed to Simon Cowell’s own label Syco, which he has with Sony. For five years One Direction largely dominated the charts (and some would argue the world.) Before the band decided to take an extended hiatus in 2015 to work on solo projects.
His experience of the show and knowing how it works, combined with his experiences of travelling the world and working with four other boys, makes him someone the contestants should listen to as he truly has been in their position.
Robbie, also having been in a band which was put together and he also had to work with 4 other guys, ( one being Gary Barlow who also had a brief tenure as an X Factor judge) Take That much like One Direction achieved unprecedented levels of success in the 90’s so much so when the band split up, helplines were opened to help grieving fans.
Robbie reunited with his Take That bandmates in 2010, the same year as Tomlinson found himself in One Direction. Robbie has always been very vocal about his time in the band and of his experiences within the wider music industry. His advice and observations much like Louis’s are key for young up and coming talent, who don’t perhaps know the industry they are hoping to work in.
Both Williams and Tomlinson seem to be it has been observed fair judges in their critiques.
I’m loving how honest @Louis_Tomlinson and @robbiewilliams are being about the industry and their experiences of it. #XFactor
— Kelly McF (@kellymcf6) July 19, 2018
. @Louis_Tomlinson speaks eloquently and his feedback is often constructive critiques. @robbiewilliams is similar to Louis with his as well! #XFactor
— Kelly McF (@kellymcf6) July 19, 2018
louis is such a fair and sweet judge , if he has criticisms he phrased them so nicely and said them in a constructive way and he gave people chances when the other judges wouldn’t
— soph (@Iouromantic) July 19, 2018
We think it will be interesting to see how their personal experiences of being on the show (for Louis) and working as international recording artist will translate into mentoring and helping whichever category they are given in the next round of the show!
Keep an eye on CelebMix for all the best bits from the XFactor when it hits our screens later this year. Which categories would you love to see Louis and Robbie mentor? Let us know @CelebMix!