'X Factor' Season 3 Spoilers: New Prize & More Fun, Says Judge Simon Cowell
X Factor will return in the fall with a few adjustments, including the exclusion of the previous $5 million prize.
"We got to a point where it was almost too much," Simon Cowell said during July's Television Critics Association panel, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Thurday report. "We want artists to be artists. The prize is now $1 million, and they still get a Sony recording contract."
Demi Lovato Twerking During X Factor Auditions
The upcoming season will also include some changes to the setup. Cowell said he wants the new season to be fun, something that he feels was missing from season 2.
"I felt that what we were doing was similar to what other people were doing, and I had this impatience to get on to season three to do what I wanted to do," he said.
In a June press interview, the only male judge explained that the forthcoming season will incorporate more exciting elements. He noted one particular aspect, but didn't get into detail because of fear that "everyone else will steal it."
He also hopes the new direction will make the X Factor the top-rated competition show.
"I never take part with the idea that you're going to lose. You have to be competitive, and you have to make changes. I work hard. It makes it fun. I'd love to be number one," he said.
Currently, the most-watched talent show is NBC's The Voice. But, The Voice's contestants have yet to achieve much chart-topping success.
"No show can survive without that," Cowell said. "You're making a promise to the contestants that you're going to turn them into a real-life artist. Otherwise it's a game show. This is the most serious thing that i do."
Cowell discussed X Factor's Fifth Harmony, a group which although didn't win season 2, is getting ready to release its debut album.
Fifth Harmony Miss Movin' On Video
Season 3 of the U.S. X Factor will premiere in the fall on FOX with returning judge Demi Lovato and the two new ones, Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio.
