In a first head-to-head battle of three talent shows, an average 8.5 million Americans — about 3.5 million or 32 per cent down from the 2011 opener — watched Spears and singer Demi Lovato make their debuts in the heavily-hyped two-hour season premiere of Fox show “The X Factor” on Wednesday.
Spears, the 30-year-old pop star who is reportedly being paid around $15 million a year, impressed critics and fans with cutting remarks and a no-nonsense dismissal of bad contestants vying for a $5 million prize and recording contract.
“I felt like I was listening to Alvin and the Chipmunks,” she told one contestant. “I wanna know who let you onstage. I feel uncomfortable with you even staring at me,” Spears told another.
But according to early Nielsen data, some 11 million tuned into the finale of “America’s Got Talent” on NBC and 10.7 million watched a third episode this week of “The Voice”, also on NBC, with celebrity music judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.
The competition was tougher in the 18-49 age group most prized by advertisers, with “The X Factor” edging out a narrow win against “The Voice.” NBC emerged as the most-watched US network of Wednesday night and Fox was the overall winner in the 18-49 demographic.
Despite the slump in viewers, Spears and former Disney Channel star Lovato were a hit on social media. Social TV analytics firm Bluefin Labs said “The X Factor” triggered about 1.4 million comments on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms on Wednesday, making it the most social season TV premiere of all time.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2012.
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