The X Factor Quotes

It's fantastic that 'Strictly' is beating 'The X Factor' for many reasons - but one of the main reasons is I think it's a fantastic piece of variety television. It is live, varied TV whereby we are really hanging ourselves out by the seam of our pants.

But shows like 'The X Factor' are a great showcase but people are not taking it for real music.

I think a lot of people are getting bored of audition-based shows, along the lines of 'Strictly Come Dancing' or 'The X-Factor'. I know I am. But 'Dragons' Den' will have a longer shelf-life than all of them because it's fundamentally real in a way that other shows aren't.

I write all my own songs. Everything I did on 'The X Factor' was basically original, except for some of the live shows. Everything I did was original, and I wrote it from the heart.

What's that man's real name anyway? It's not will.i.am, is it? He thinks he's got all the answers, but if he didn't have Fergie in the band, where would he be? Fergie is the real star. I would love her on 'The X Factor,' and to be a judge on the show.

'The X Factor' seems to be more about building up personalities and people in tears. And it's not a new idea. The pre-Beatles pop world was full of manufactured pop stars. The thing is that you can't imagine any of the artists you look back at and admire ever going on 'The X Factor.'

I went back to 'The X Factor' for one reason, because I wanted to have that full circle. It's where I started, and I went back as a presenter. And that's what I wanted and I got that.

The rest of my family are obsessed by 'The X Factor:' I'm intrigued by it, although its musical values are far away from mine, like a cup of tea with 400 lumps of sugar in it. There's something very strange about Simon Cowell's lips, isn't there?

You used to have to come to America for 18 months and drive around in a van, trying to get radio stations to play your song. But I remember One Direction's manager telling me that the first time they came to America, they hadn't released a song - they'd only been on 'The X Factor.' But there were 2,000 fans waiting at LAX airport.

I'm a big fan of all those singing competition shows. Most recently, I've been into The Voice. It's one of my secrets! And I'm definitely looking forward to The X Factor, especially because I'm a huge Simon Cowell fan. Personally, I sing for fun, but mainly in the shower, when I'm alone. Other people definitely do not want to hear me sing.

Anything that's ever gotten on the charts as a result of "American Idol" or "The X Factor" in the UK. It's born out of karaoke culture. It's been a long time coming, but it's absolutely affected radio.