Simon Cowell knows his new show, “The X Factor,” has to differentiate itself from the (music reality show) pack.
With his old show, “American Idol,” going great guns without him, and NBC ready to launch Mark Burnett’s singing show “The Voice” April 26, Cowell is aware “The X Factor” needs to forge its own identity when it premieres in September on Fox.
“What the show has got to reflect is what’s happening today in the music business . . . which has actually been dominated over the last year by new artists — and they’re making the rules now,” Cowell told The Post.
“Lady Gaga kind of started this new revolution — do whatever you want, just be different and talented — but don’t be afraid to be different. And that’s what I hope this show does.”
With “X Factor” auditions coming to Newark, NJ, next Thursday (at the Prudential Center), Cowell has lots to discuss — including several new wrinkles added to his show in the past few days.
For starters, “The X Factor” will have two hosts — hearkening back to Cowell’s British hit “Pop Idol,” which spawned Fox’s “American Idol” (hosted in Season One by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman).
“They [the hosts] definitely haven’t been decided on yet, but I’ve always thought these shows are better with two hosts. I think it will be a guy and a girl,” Cowell says. “It’s like having two friends who’ve got more to say back to you when they have each other.
“When we tried it in America [on ‘Idol’] it was an unmitigated disaster,” he says. “It was funny, though, when it was happening. I did quite enjoy that first year because [Seacrest and Dunkleman] didn’t like each other so much, and it was quite amusing to watch.”
“The X Factor” is open to anyone over the age of 12. The show’s final 12 contestants will comprise four groups of three contestants each—young male singers, young female singers, vocal groups and older singers.
Viewers will decide each week who gets the boot, while each “X Factor” judge will be given a category to mentor.
“Basically, it’s almost like the judges are competing,” says Cowell, who says he’s “getting close” to naming the other judges (joining former record exec LA Reid).
Cowell says that ex-“Idol” judge Paula Abdul is “100 percent” in the running. (Her CBS show, “Live to Dance,” tanked this winter.) “I adore her, and I love her,” he says of Abdul. “And it seems like everyone wants her back on [TV]. I met her recently, and she looked incredible.
“As much as it pains me to say it, I miss her,” he says. “I just had a special relationship with her. When she left [‘Idol’], the spark left the show and it was never the same.”
