Cat Deeley

MTV News' Jim Cantiello offers his first-week take on Simon Cowell's latest singing contest and suggests some upgrades.By Jim Cantiello Simon Cowell Photo: FOX After a year of hype and the promise of a revamped singing competition that will blow everything else out of the water, Simon Cowell's "X Factor" debuted and turned out to be, at best, "American Idol" in an arena and, at worst, "America's Got Talent" without the jugglers. Comparisons to other reality competitions are unavoidable, not only because "X Factor" marks the TV return of beloved duo Simon and Paula, but because Cowell has taken elements from many competitive series and put them in a giant blender: the auditions in front of a live audience of "Talent"; the small-town-hero angle of "Idol"; former "Sing-Off "judge Nicole Scherzinger; and an impossibly tall, foreign-born, hug-happy host, à la "So You Think You Can Dance" star Cat Deeley. But so far, Frankensteining a bunch of popular TV shows hasn't made "The X Factor" feel all that groundbreaking. In its defense, audition episodes are often the tackiest, most manipulative and most bloated part of any reality competition, particularly "American Idol." Easy-target freak shows and exploitative sob stories abound. In the two-night (!) four-hour (!!) "X Factor" premiere, we met washed-up R&B divas, recovering meth-head waste managers and a stripping novelty act that had Paula regretting her breakfast burrito. Meanwhile, "tribute act" contestants like Prince-loving Siameze and the James Brown-aping Dexter Heygood received good reviews, even though they might seem more at home on "America's Got Talent." (Now that I mention it, one of the girls in metal duo "You Only Live Once" was just on "AGT" this summer doing the same exact shtick. You'd think Cowell's production company — which oversees both shows — would have caught that.) After two nights, the only thing that differentiates "X Factor" from every other music-based reality competition is a $5 million contract, mentioned approximately 14 times a minute, and ... well, that's about it. Simon Cowell spent so much time obsessing over how to top "American Idol" that he lost sight of the one show he should be paying attention to: "The Voice." NBC's midseason breakout cracked the code and figured out how to make audition episodes fresh again. The secret? Blind auditions that forced the judges to make snap decisions on the spot, aided by a giant red button left over from "Press Your Luck," which activated a giant swivel chair. There was cooked-up suspense in every single audition. Gimmicky? You bet. Fun as hell and new? Absolutely. Truth be told, once the blind auditions ended, "The Voice" became a less exciting reality show with a so-so talent pool. The most interesting parts — the judges are also mentors, their famous friends drop by for one-on-one coaching time — were all components liberally lifted from the U.K.'s "X Factor" format. Ironic that the one reality show Simon didn't take from is the one that stole from him, don'cha think? All hope is not lost for "The X Factor," though. When it works — like recovering addict Chris Rene performing a heart-tugging original called "Young Homey" or rugby player (and former "Idol" hopeful) Caitlyn Koch turning "Stop in the Name of Love" into an Adele song — it lives up to its potential as a fresher, more contemporary take on "Idol." (Those two auditions made me infinitely more excited than anything I saw during the "Idol" tryouts this year.) Plus, as a casual watcher of the U.K. series, I know that there are tons of surprises and high drama in store. With the promise of "awards-show-style performances" from the contestants starting with the live shows in November, I'm confident "The X Factor" will grow into the groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind, must-see spectacle it claims to be. Until then, I'll miss Christina Aguilera and her swivel chair.

'Game of Thrones' and 'Mildred Pierce' help HBO lead the pack with 104 nominations.By Aly Semigran Will (Matthew Morrison) and Emma (Jayma Mays) share a moment in an episode of GLEE Photo: FOX The nominations for the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced at the crack of dawn Thursday (July 14) — 5:40 a.m. PST, to be exact — and while reigning Outstanding Comedy Series champ "Glee" is currently undergoing some major casting shake-ups, the show's ensemble still did well in the nominations department. Last year's Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner Jane Lynch, who is also hosting the ceremony this year, will once again try for a supporting Emmy, as will Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer. 2010 nominee Lea Michele did not garner a nomination this time around. The musical dramedy also won nominations for guest stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristin Chenoweth and Dot-Marie Jones. As expected, there were some major upsets and shockers in each Emmy category, but perhaps none more apparent then the wildly popular HBO drama "True Blood" being shut out of all major categories, including Outstanding Drama Series and all major acting races. Actress Melissa McCarthy's year, on the other hand, just continues to get better. In addition to her star-making turn in the breakout comedy "Bridesmaids," McCarthy became a first-time Emmy nominee for her work on the sitcom "Mike & Molly." The actress got the news firsthand as she, along with "Fringe" star Joshua Jackson, announced the nominations for the 2011 Emmy Awards Thursday morning. But the stunned McCarthy wasn't the only one to have a good morning in Hollywood. McCarthy's "Bridesmaids" co-star Kristen Wiig garnered her second nomination in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category for her work on "Saturday Night Live." She's up against the women of "Modern Family" and Betty White for "Hot in Cleveland." "SNL," which was nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series, also brought some good luck to Justin Timberlake, who earned four Emmy nominations. The "Friends With Benefits" star was nominated for his appearance as host (he'll go against the likes of Matt Damon and fellow "SNL" host Zach Galifianakis in the guest category) as well as winning three nominations for his musical contributions including "Jack Sparrow" and the Lady Gaga-featured "3-Way." "SNL" vet Tina Fey found herself a double nominee thanks to her "SNL" hosting appearance and another Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series nomination for her work on "30 Rock." But no cast had a better morning than the "Modern Family" ensemble. The show racked up an impressive 17 nominations, more than any other show this year, with the entire cast (well, the adults, anyway) — Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, last year's winner Eric Stonestreet and first-time nominee Ed O'Neill — all nominated in the supporting-actor/actress comedy series categories. Several stars were rewarded with nominations for their final year of work on their respective series. Steve Carell, who departed from Outstanding Comedy Series nominee "The Office" (which is competing against "The Big Bang Theory," "Glee," "Modern Family," "Parks and Recreation" and "30 Rock") towards the end of its seventh season, garnered another nomination in the Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series (Carell has never won). Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of "Friday Night Lights," whose final season wraps up this year, both earned lead acting nominations in the drama categories. "FNL" also scored with a nomination in the Outstanding Drama Series category, against "Boardwalk Empire," "Dexter," "Game of Thrones," "The Good Wife" and "Mad Men." Newcomer "Game of Thrones" did well for HBO, the most-nominated network this year. In addition to the drama nod, the graphic series adapted from George R.R. Martin's books also found a nomination for Peter Dinklage in the Supporting Actor in a Drama Series race. Other notable actor nominees this year include Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation") and Kate Winslet ("Mildred Pierce"). HBO's "Mildred Pierce" is the most-nominated work for 2011. Check out more nominees below, and for nominations in all Emmy categories, visit Emmy.com. The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on Fox on Sunday, September 18, at 8:00 p.m. Reality Competition: "The Amazing Race," American Idol," "Dancing With the Stars," "Project Runway," "So You Think You Can Dance," "Top Chef" Reality host: Tom Bergeron ("Dancing With the Stars"), Cat Deeley ("So You Think You Can Dance"), Phil Keoghan ("The Amazing Race"), Jeff Probst ("Survivor"), Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol") Animated Series: "The Cleveland Show," "Robot Chicken," "The Simpsons," "South Park" Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series: "The Colbert Report," "Conan," "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "Real Time With Bill Maher," "Saturday Night Live"