TV Critics Tour: Britney Spears meets the press
Britney Spears arrives at “The X Factor” Season 2 auditions at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. (July 8, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Beverly Hills — Britney Spears so-far brief tenure on “The X Factor” has been hounded by a few reports of backstage — or rather onstage — tantrums, the occasional walk-off, and friction with Simon Cowell (all likely planted by “Factor” and Fox to give the press something to write about while the show's off the air).
But in her first extended meet-and-greet with the press yesterday, those all melted away. She's happy with the show (she says) and probably of greater importance happy with Simon (she also says).
“I was such a fan of the show, and actually my makeup artist was the makeup artist for Simon. And we talked about it a couple of times when I was on tour, but really never took it seriously until she went back and she started working for him, and then we just all met up, and it made sense. I adore Simon, and it was something I really wanted to do.”
She also said this (via satellite with the rest of the judges from Miami): "His show has been really good for me to do because I’ve, you know, been able to help these this talent come in and, you know, achieve their dream, and I can relate to them on such a level because I started out at such a young age. I know the foundation and the depth of what you go through into achieving your dream and doing this. So being able to do this has been, if anything, a great, great experience for me.”
Simon responded: “Britney, I’m not going to lie about this. I always said the No. 1 person I always wanted on one of these shows was Britney because I was fascinated with her as a person. You know that. As a pop star, and there’s something intriguing about her. I didn’t know her as a person, and I thought it would be interesting to have her on one of these shows so you see another side of her, and she’s a really, really good judge.”
Of the new panel — comprising Spears, Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid, he said: “we were learning as we went along last year, but I don’t envision this changing for a while. We all seem to be getting along really well. The panel works. The girls seem happy. I’ve got my buddy L.A. back, so we’re having a good time.."
