Simon Cowell on X Factor Season 2 Going Live: Groups, Britney, Khloe, and an Open Invitation to the President

Simon Cowell said it plainly: "They can make up their differences, sing a song together. Music is the great healer, as you know, and they will be very …" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On October 30, 2012, Fox held a press conference call with Simon Cowell ahead of The X Factor Season 2's first live show, airing that night from 8 to 10:07 p.m. Eastern. Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton was on the call and asked the final question of the session — about whether Cowell would extend an invitation to the President to appear on the show. This is the full story from that call.

They can make up their differences, sing a song together. Music is the great healer, as you know, and they will be very welcome any week to do that.

The Groups — a million times better than last year

Cowell was mentoring the Groups category in Season 2 and made no effort to hide his confidence: "The groups are a million times better than last year and I've had a lot of success with groups over the years. Some of them I could really, really see having a big future outside this competition." He pointed to one group in particular as a standout for the opening live show — "just off the charts tomorrow night" — and drew a direct comparison to his previous work with One Direction. On the challenge of mentoring groups versus solo artists, he was candid: "It just takes a while for the public to know the individuals because there's a lot of them. And for some reason, groups don't come in with the same level of sob stories as the solo artists." He singled out Sister C as a group with a specific problem to solve: "They find it really difficult to do interviews and they come over as a bit arrogant, but in real life they're not. They're actually very sweet girls, but I've told them — if people don't like you, no matter how well you sing, you're not going to last long in a competition like this."

Britney Spears — better than everyone thought

On Britney Spears as a judge, Cowell was direct: "She's been a lot better than everybody thought. She's very engaged. I was with her yesterday and she's very, very into her contestants. She thinks she can win the competition." He acknowledged the unknown: "I don't know what she's going to be like on a live show because we haven't done one yet and it's a very, very different setup than the auditions because at this point, the judges are competing with each other." He named her Young Teens category as the one every other judge feared: "I would say that's the category every judge fears is going to probably do really well." On the question of a Britney performance, he was optimistic: "I'm going to push as much as possible for her to do something on the final and I think she'll probably do it."

Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez — why two hosts

Cowell explained the two-host decision by going back to the first show he ever did on British television: "We had two hosts. It was so much fun and I always think with two hosts, they just have someone to rely on." He was transparent about the network's role in the pairing: "The network really said it's just too risky to put two people on a show who haven't hosted before. What they felt was that Mario — he's a really professional, safe pair of hands — and Khloe, certainly in her first season, would need someone around her who has had a lot of experience." On Khloe specifically, he pushed back against her doubters: "When she came over to my house the other day, she really has got a fun personality. I think she gets what her role is. I think she's there to be a voice for the contestants and to have fun with it." He described what he wanted from both hosts: "I see a host's role to be a fan as well as a host. They're entitled to have their favorites and they're there to stick up for the contestants that they think have been unfairly treated."

Mentoring vs. judging — and the worst feeling in the business

Asked which job was harder, Cowell's answer was unambiguous: "Mentoring can be a nightmare because you've got so much responsibility to get it right and when it goes wrong, you have to take the brunt that it has been your fault the contestant is gone. Anyone can judge to be honest with you, but mentoring — choosing the right material, making sure their image is right, making sure they're getting on and overseeing everything — particularly at the beginning when you've got four acts, is hard work. It's embarrassing on the night when you got it wrong. I mean it's just the worst feeling because then you're being judged." He cited losing Drew from Season 1 as a specific regret: "I chose a stupid song for her that particular week. You feel really bad afterwards."

Daedrian's question — an open invitation to the President

I just saw the strategy or the format of the show. I thought it was brilliant, the whole storytelling part of it. My question to you is last season on Idol there was an invitation for the president to come on. Would you extend that invitation this year to sing or to perform in some way?

Definitely. I mean even a duet I'd take. They could both come on and do a duet together. Absolutely. They can make up their differences, sing a song together. Music is the great healer, as you know, and they will be very welcome any week to do that. That was a good question. Alternatively, we'll just take one. Okay?

Cowell closed the call by telling the assembled press: "These are really good questions." The X Factor Season 2 live shows aired Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox.

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