There was “something off” about last year’s X Factor because Cheryl Fernandez-Versini “wasn’t herself” during filming, Simon Cowell has revealed.
Cheryl rejoined the judging panel for last year’s series after quitting the show in 2011. The 32-year-old singer had left The X Factor in the UK and was then dropped from the US version of the singing contest, leading to her falling out with Simon for a time.
Although Cheryl eventually took her old job back and joined Mel B and Louis Walsh on the judging panel, all was not well, Simon told Hello! magazine.
Simon revealed: “I think sometimes you can go through years when everything gets a bit too much and I think for Cheryl – I don’t know what it was about last year – there was something off.
“The last series just didn’t feel right to me from the minute I started recording it. I never felt it was going to be fun.”
The music mogul added that things were going to be much more fun this year because Cheryl was back to her usual self. “She’s definitely happier than she was a year ago, much happier. This year, it feels different.
“I’m not putting it down to Cheryl, but she’s in a different place, I’m in a different place.”
Simon has completely shaken up the judging panel this year. Louis is gone after over a decade on the show, and he and Mel B have been replaced by newbies Nick Grimshaw and Rita Ora for the forthcoming series.
Series 12 of the X Factor will air in the coming weeks.
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