Season 1

Season 1 of The X-Factor premiered on Fox on September 21, 2011 and ended on December 22, 2011 with Florida singer Melanie Amaro as the winner. Steve Jones hosted the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, LA Reid, and Nicole Scherzinger on the judging panel.

The show managed to do well enough to be renewed for a second season by Fox even though it did not live up to the very lofty expectations that had been set for it.

Cheryl Cole firing
The show attracted its first bit of controversy when British pop star Cheryl Cole, who had previously been a judge on the UK version of the show, was reportedly fired from the US version for reasons unknown. Theories ranged from contestants not understanding Cole's thick British accent to lack of chemistry with the other judges, mainly Paula Abdul. Nicole Scherzinger, who had originally been hired to co-host the show alongside Steve Jones, took Cole's place on the judging panel.

It was later revealed in an unauthroized biography of Simon Cowell that Scherzinger had been lobbying for Cole's spot on the judging panel. Cole later confirmed it herself in her own memoir.

Criticism
The show also proved not to be immune from criticism. The most frequent was that the show focused too much attention on the judges rather then on the contestants. Another was that the show went overboard with the production, keeping more attention away from the contestants. Many claimed that they didn't like seeing so many backup dancers, and some claimed that they hated hearing the backup singers drown out the contestants.

The Drew and Rachel eliminations
The eliminations also proved troubling especially when contestants Drew and Rachel Crow were each eliminated. Because both girls are teenagers, their eliminations caused a debate among fans and critics over whether the show's minimum audition age of 12 should be raised. Some even claimed that kids Drew and Rachel's ages are probably not emotionally ready for something as big as being on national television. This was in response to both girls' tearful reactions to being eliminated.

Cowell expectations
Another bit of criticism the show received was leveled at judge Simon Cowell due to high expectations he had set for it''. The show did not acheive the high ratings many had expected for it due to multiple factors, one of them being Cowell's claim that The X-Factor would be better then the show he had left the year before, American Idol''.  

Aftermath
Despite decent ratings, the show underwent changes first by letting go of Jones, Abdul and Scherzinger. Various rumors swirled about possible replacements. One ended up becoming official when pop star Britney Spears officially joined Cowell and Reid on the judging panel on May 9, 2012. The second judging position was later filled by singer-actress Demi Lovato on May 13, 2012.