'The X Factor' behind-the-scenes: Exclusive details you didn't see on last night's premiere

The X Factor's second season debut last night with coverage of the competition's auditions in Austin, San Francisco and Providence and the introductions of Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, who will join returning judges Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid on the show's new judging panel.  


According to Cowell, Providence was one of the top stops on this summer's audition tour -- and Reality TV World was there, witnessing everything from the judges' initial arrivals to the final audition by a singer who sang The Temptations' "My Girl." (In fact, we live-tweeted coverage at the time -- follow us on Twitter if you don't already!)

Below are some behind-the-scene details about the auditions of advancing auditioners Jennel Garcia and Jillian Jensen that you didn't get to see on television last night, as well as the Providence auditions in general.

- While Jennel ended up being a "young Pat Benatar," she initially came across as Miley Cyrus-like to the judges and audience.  Sorry Jennel!

- The judges' praise of Jennel was even more gushing than what was shown on TV and featured Demi admitting she had a girl crush on her.  Some of the judges' unbroadcast comments included:


  "This is what I have been waiting for today."

  "I had a girl crush in Austin but I think you're my new one."

  "You're probably the most promising act I've seen in this competition so far."

- Although it was emotional, the studio audience didn't have the benefit of having watched Jillian's background package that detailed the extent of her bullying prior to her audition -- making the live performance less impactful than last night's broadcast.

- Given their distance from her, Demi's tears were also not visible to the studio audience.


- Unlike home viewers, the studio audience didn't get to hear Demi's conversation with Jillian when she came up on stage and hugged Jillian after her performance -- Demi's mic audio was not piped into the sound system.

- In addition to her bullying, Jillian also mentioned her background as a member of the Varsity Girls, a local teen girl group, when she introduced herself to the judges.

- Jillian's grandma may have been even more excited about her advancement than her granddaughter was -- and she loved the crowd. What a ham!

- While their auditions aired within minutes of each other on TV, Jennel and Jillian actually auditioned on separate days.  Jennel was the third audition of Day 2's evening session while Jillian was the sixth audition of Day 3's evening session. Yeah, we did count!

- Yes, Jennel and Jillian really are nearly the same age and from the same small Massachusetts town of Rochester (population 5,232 according to the 2010 U.S. Census.)  Maybe there's something in the drinking water?


- Britney must have lightened up and quieted down as The X Factor's audition tour went on, because she was not as nasty as her Austin audition editing package presented during the Providence auditions. In fact, she spoke the least of any judge and headed backstage quickly during nearly every filming break.

- While The X Factor's Providence auditions will air over two episodes (look for more on tonight's broadcast!) they took place over three days (June 27-29) and consisted of six sessions -- three afternoon sessions and three evening sessions. Each session lasted about four hours.

- Britney, Demi, and L.A. Reid wore the same outfits during all six audition sessions.  However if you watched closely, you'll see Simon changed his tight-fitting T-shirt from session to session, bouncing between fifty shades of gray and black.

- Viewers only saw him on TV briefly, but Britney's fiance Jason Trawick was a constant off-screen presence during the Providence auditions.

- Britney, Demi and L.A. all made individual public entrances and posed for press and fan photos on the first day of the Providence auditions, but Simon made a private entrance, avoiding the crowd. Maybe he was having a bad hair day?


- Although viewers only saw a handful of auditions on Wednesday night's premiere, over a hundred acts auditioned for the judges while they were in Providence.






About The Author: Steven Rogers