X Factor USA world premiere

X Factor USA marked its world premiere screening in Hollywood on Wednesday night with a red carpet event attended by judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and LA Reid and host Steve Jones.

Thousands of fans cheered as the panel walked the red carpet and posed for photographers at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, where the Fox singing competition received its first screening ahead of next week’s two-night premiere.

Auditions for the competition, which took place in cities across the US over the summer, were open to all individual singers and groups from the age of 12 upwards.

The winner will land a record-breaking $5 million recording contract prize and the chance to appear in a Pepsi Super Bowl commercial next year.

Cowell told reporters on a conference call earlier this week that he had always wanted to launch a television show with a red carpet premiere and was excited about how America will react to X Factor.

“I’m feeling excited now,” he said. “There are always nerves before a launch but they are good nerves… I’m really starting to have a good time now and looking forward to [the premiere]. I’ve always wanted to have a TV premiere in a cinema. It’s brilliant!”

As for whether the show can find a global superstar, he said: “That was the sole reason for making the show here. Can you find a different kind of artist who doesn’t just work within a competition show – we always will have a winner – but can actually compete with the big artists around the world?”

X Factor will launch on Wednesday, September 21 at 8/7c on Fox and continues Thursday, September 22 at 8/7c on Fox

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