'The X Factor': When the Cameras Weren't Rolling

By Minh Nguyen

Special to MSN TV

MSN TV was behind the scenes at last night’s “The X Factor,” and we thought the show was missing the “X.” We stepped backstage to the dressing rooms where we were inches away from Chris Rene. He was in the zone and didn’t notice anyone else as he practiced singing, making dance moves and smiling ... to himself in the mirror. We also saw an older gentleman getting his makeup done. We later put two and two together and figured out it was Clive Davis. Melanie Amaro was calmly getting her hair "did." Rachel Crow was standing around smiling and talking to people we didn’t recognize.

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Inside the auditorium, it was supposed to be Pepsi Challenge night, but it ended up just being another two-song night (aka, there was no theme). Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger rocked it to “I’m Sexy and I Know It,” as they came out to the audience at the beginning of the night. The Warm-Up Guy instructed us, “You cannot be too loud or too rude.” The audience was neither loud nor rude. They were the mildest we’ve seen since covering this show. We weren’t even a little scared … since there was no shaking inside the auditorium. The auditorium is not as big as it appears on TV, and there is a huge monitor on screen that tells us how much time there is left in between commercial breaks. Also, there were people who mopped up the glitter on the stage the whole night between the commercial breaks.

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During the breaks, Simon and LA (almost always) leave and come back. Paula and Nicole seemed pretty friendly with each other. They got their makeup and hair retouched and talked to each other. Steve Jones loves his Aquafina. At one point, we saw him grab a bottle out of a man’s back jean pockets, toss it in the air and take a sip. LA blew kisses, waved and at one point took his white towel (that he had wiped his sweat from his forehead off) and threw it for the audience to catch. At a different commercial break, LA got his head sponged/powdered. LA also said a lot of nice things about Clive Davis, “He is the greatest. (The audience clapped.) And you’ve got to make more noise for him than that. (The audience clappedlouder) Thank you. That’s my hero. That’s my godfather. I learned from Clive, so if you don’t like me ... I’m kidding. I love you. Clive, (it’s) good to see you.”   

We sat next to three guys in their twenties holding “We Love Rachel Crow” signs and cheering her on. Later, when Simon said, “It is important someone your age is choosing their own material,” one of them shouted, “It’s about time she got to pick her own song.” We later sighed in relief when we found out they were related to her. Rachel also had her second grade teacher there, who said, “Her smile just made a huge difference in my day every day. I like to dance, and we used to do the Macarena. There were 16 kids and she was the best (dancer).” Another audience member was a contract plumber from Paso Robles celebrating his 27th anniversary with his wife. He was trying to win “The X Factor” finale tickets in a dance contest but lost to a male flight attendant that was doing some weird butt move.

Simon ate humble pie. He said, “That was painful,” when he admitted to how good Marcus Canty’s performance was. The most exciting moment during the breaks was when Nicole got a marriage proposal from an audience member. Unfortunately, when the Warm-Up Guy asked if he had a job, he couldn’t answer and the Warm-Up Guy moved on. The audience really reacted well to Josh Krajcik, Chris Rene and Melanie Amaro. By default, we’re predicting Rachel Crow and Marcus Canty will have to sing for their lives.

"The X Factor" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.