Why The X Factor hits the spot

For the most part, I steer well clear of reality TV. I have to be honest though: it's hard not to get sucked in to the last handful of episodes of a show like American Idol. By the time it gets down to the last few contestants, you see some real talent who try to bring it every week and win over viewers with interesting and powerful performances.

The X Factor Australia, which debuted last night on TV3 (7.30pm) and is based on successful series from around the world which produced the likes of Leona Lewis, is slightly different from a show like Idol. The judges select contestants from widespread public auditions, before splitting a selected few into four groups, each overseen by one of the four judges.

The selection of judges for The X Factor Australia also piqued my interest. First, we've got Kyle Sandilands, a radio DJ and former Australian Idol judge who most of the contestants seem scared of; he also managed the best criticism of the night when he described one singer as being "like a drunk monkey driving a semi trailer". Then there's Natalie Imbruglia, who the show described as Australia's biggest pop export. Kylie Minogue just rolled in her grave. (Wait, what? She's not dead?)

Former talent show winners Ronan Keating (open auditions got him into Boyzone back in 1993) and Guy Sebastian (winner of the first Australian Idol competition) complete the set - which is kinda like Stuff running a blogging competition and having it judged by Blog Idol winners Moata and Chaz. By the way, Moata would definitely be the Simon Cowell character in this contest. Also, I would absolutely read every word.

Last night's premiere episode covered the open audition process, which is always a fun part of any talent show. Here, in no particular order, are my five favourite prospective contestants:

Altion Childs: Altion (pictured) is a former indie rock star who showed up dressed entirely in denim, accented by a V-neck T-shirt and scarf, before stomping around the stage like some kind of wannabe rock star. Sadly, Bon Jovi called during his performance and asked for his style from 1987 back. Altion eventually made it to the next round after trying again the next day.

Amanda Grafanakis: Amanda is a Lady Gaga wannabe who nailed Bad Romance while wandering seductively around the stage in a pair of high-heel sneakers and a skirt/veil/thing (I'm not up with women's fashion). She started badly and I thought she was going to fail miserably, but she recovered well and made it through to the next stage.

Hoe: Hoe is an older Asian gentleman who turned up dressed like a cowboy who absolutely mauled Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline in one of the show's worst performances. Kyle Sandilands said what we were all thinking, simply stating "no Hoe". I loved Hoe to bits. It's a good thing he didn't make it through - he was probably better suited to a career in gardening anyway. Yeah, I went there.

Harry Abu: Harry is a Brunei native who admitted before performing that he was hiding the fact he was gay from his family back home, which had the effect of making him the most popular man leading a double-life since Don Draper was dumped by Betty on Mad Men. He sang brilliantly and deservedly got through to the next round. Meanwhile my random Mad Men reference got knocked out at the audition stage.

Frank and Val: This aging couple nearly didn't find their way to the auditions, since Val almost had an asthma attack before singing a single note. Also, they couldn't figure out which train to get on to get to the auditions. They sang an old standard named If I Loved You. Why did I like them? They reminded me of my Gran, who used to sing publicly during the war. Sadly, I don't think my Gran would've made it to the next round either.

I can't guarantee that we'll cover The X Factor Australia in any depth at On the Box. But as we've seen, if you're after a few laughs you just can't go wrong with talent shows.

Did you watch The X Factor Australia? Who stood out for you? Where do you stand on talent shows in general?

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