Live at X Factor: Stacy Francis "Confused" by Astro's Behavior, Calls Him "Ungracious"

It's safe to say tonight's elimination on The X Factor will go down as one of the most shocking in reality TV history.

Not because of who went home, but because of the behavior of one of the contestants in the bottom two: 15-year-old rapper Astro, who threatened to not perform then copped a major attitude with the judges. Though

he was ultimately saved by the judges, who called him out on his behavior, we chatted with eliminated contestant Stacy Francis after the show and she definitely had an opinion on her competitor's actions.

So what did Stacy have to say about Astro? And where will she go from here? 

"I'm very confused by Astro's behavior because I think in that moment you should be pleading for your life and not throwing it away," Francis says of Astro's actions during the show, including telling the crowd he didn't think he had to perform. 

"I dont understand his behavior," she continues. "I mean, he's 14. We can call him a teenager and give him an excuse, but bad behavior is bad behavior. I think that he was ungracious in that moment and I think that in the real scheme of things, no matter what, you have to be grateful."

Stacy also says she believes Simon Cowell may have saved Astro because of his onstage antics. "I think Simon likes a little rebellion. He might respect Astro a little bit for being so rebellious. He likes a bad boy."

When asked if she talked to Astro after the show, Stacy says, "No. We saw each other, but I didn't say anything to him." Though she didn't talk to him after the show, Stacy did have some words of wisdom for Astro. "I would tell him to be a little more humble."

Straying away from the Astro of it all, Stacy reveals she wishes she had chosen different songs and believes it would have made all the difference for her in the competition. 

"I regret my song choice last night and I regret my song choice last week as well," she says. "It's all about song choice in this whole thing and I don't feel like I was myself in it. I was trying to be something else because I was persuaded. It's a very difficult thing." 

Not difficult for Stacy was lining up a post-X-Factor gig: she's already been contacted by a potential manager!

"Frontline Management probably will manage me," she say. "Irving Azoff, he said that he's fan. I'm hoping that relationship will blossom and go on. I do have to feed my children, so that's the goal."

What did you think of tonight's elimination? Do you think the right person went home? Do you think Astro was ungrateful?

Cheryl Cole out to prove she really was sacked by US X Factor in new row (Photos)

CHERYL Cole is ready to make public a damning dossier of evidence to prove she WAS fired from American X Factor. It comes as the row over her exit from the show took a dramatic new twist. The Girls Aloud star claims to have emails and text messages from senior US TV executives to verify she was given the chop – amid speculation that TV chiefs are trying to get out of paying her. Friends of the Geordie singer, 27, believe this is the REAL reason why she was bizarrely offered her judging role back

on Friday night. They reckon it is part of a clever ruse by US network bosses Fox and producers Fremantle, who think she may NOT turn up to Wednesday’s auditions in New Jersey – and be in breach of her contract. A friend of the singer said: “They’re hoping it’s a no-show so they don’t have to pay her. But that plan falls flat when you look at the fact of the matter – that she’s already been fired. “There was a meeting attended by Cheryl where it was made clear it wasn’t working. Then there are emails and messages to the same effect. “For the network to try and wriggle out of it by suggesting otherwise is nonsense. If she doesn’t turn up to re-take her place on the panel, she is not in breach of her contract – because Fox breached it themselves.” Cheryl is said to be “in two minds” about whether to take up the TV bosses’ offer. She still believes she’s been made a laughing stock during the course of the past week, with one pal raging: “If they think they can go around treating people like this, they’re wrong.” But at the same time some friends say she would be mad to turn down the chance. One insider said: “It’s a tough decision because it’s a huge show. “There’s still a lot of pain there. At last Cheryl is in charge of the situation. She’s finally calling the shots, but she’s really not sure.” US TV executives yesterday insisted Cheryl will get her €1.3million fee whether she turns up or not. They claim she showed a “willingness” to return to the UK version of the show and that at no point was she actually sacked. A TV source said: “Everyone thought she wasn’t herself and might be happier back home in the UK. It wasn’t a case of being sacked at all. “It was that we made her another offer for the UK show – and both her management and Cheryl herself seemed up for it initially. The reason why it dragged on for so long was that her team severed contact with Fremantle and nobody knew what was going on. Because she missed the deadline on the UK version, bosses wanted to ensure she still had a role on the UK X Factor and that’s what’s happened now. 

“The role could be adapted or discussed to suit her. “It could be that she is a judge alongside Nicole Sherzinger or takes up a mentor role. It’s up to her.” A source close to show boss Simon Cowell said: “Simon cares massively about Cheryl. He’s concerned about her and just wants to do what’s right by her.” Yesterday our sister paper the Sunday Mirror revealed that Cheryl has split from dancer Derek Hough, 25. His step-father Aaron Nelson, 54, said: “It’s sad, but it just wasn’t working out. Derek just wants to move on with his life.” Derek, who nursed Cheryl through her malaria ordeal last summer, is said to have called time on their romance just two weeks ago – before she was axed from American X Factor.

Cheryl Cole's loss could be the US X Factor's gain

Special relationship? Special relationship? Let me tell you something, Mr President (he'll be reading this – never misses a week): nothing says "you guys are so special to me" like hightailing it to the airport just as news breaks of what America has done to Britain's Cheryl Cole. Yes, there may be the odd distracted Yemeni or Syrian dissident who hasn't heard the story – though I hear it's the talk of Tripoli – but Cheryl Cole has been axed from the US version of The X Factor. Whether or not Obama personally

delivered the death blow to Cheryl's American dreams is irrelevant. My sources tell me the president was watching the entire operation via videolink in a mobile situation room, and that he and the joint chiefs were scarcely able to breathe until Fox operatives confirmed the takedown using the code alert "Geordio EKIA! Geordio EKIA!" The result? You may chalk up another victory for Simon Cowell's weather control programme, as the Karaoke Sauron engineers another shitstorm. Those of you not putting the finishing touches to a strychnine martini will likely have some questions. Like, how quickly is the Sun's original line about Cheryl "resigning" because she was "homesick" going to die? (Answer: it's not only already dead; it's been buried at sea.) Or you may wonder: was it her accent? After all, it's not as if The X Factor lacks unintelligible judges with Paula Abdul on the panel. Some will just want to know if they're hiring on Geordie Shore. Wherever you stand, there is much to discuss, not least the role of a man who has long been one of this column's more esoteric obsessions. I speak of Mike Darnell, the Fox network's post-moral president of alternative entertainment, and the man we might call Simon's US line manager. But first up, how big is this news? Well, Daybreak decided to lead on it, as opposed to the Care Quality Commission's shockingly grim report on how the NHS is failing elderly patients. (I'm sure the show's producers will retort that they know their market. And yet the ratings insist otherwise.) So while you may regard Cheryl as a somewhat oxidised nation's sweetheart, for a generation of reality-addled youngsters this is the equivalent of Vera Lynn being told not to let the door hit her on the arse on the way out. On one level, the sacking of a judge during filming, before the show airs, feels like a vaguely familiar piece of Cowellpolitik. Brian Friedman, Louis Walsh . . . a rollcall of previous oustees might put this into perspective. Except, when you are Cheryl, you don't expect this to happen to you. You are a big fish – with even bigger hair. The discovery that in the big pond of America, you are the amoeba-like equivalent of Kelly Brook is what Spinal Tap's David St Hubbins once described as "too much fucking perspective". Cheryl's giant bouffant – acquired somewhere on the 42nd parallel during the flight over – now looks like a classic reverse Samson. Looking back, there were warning signs. On Tuesday, Max Clifford was quoted saying that Simon had called him on seeing Obama's bomb-proof Cadillac and declared: "I need one." It isn't beyond the realms that Simon had deemed himself 24 hours away from requiring an armoured vehicle, to protect him from pitchfork-wielding Cheryl fans, or just your standard psychopathic drag artist acting alone. Anyway, the rumour is that Cheryl's seat is to be taken by Nicole Scherzinger, who had been slated to co-host the show. Those who listened to Daybreak's quarterwitted LA correspondent Ross King gibbering that the American TV market is "brutal – just brutal" might wish our own was similarly cutthroat, as Ross wouldn't have survived one botched red carpet interview, let alone the thousands he has racked up. For once, though, he speaks sense, as it really is a jungle out there. An American sketch show was once pulled during the first commercial break of the first episode, and while that could never be The X Factor's fate, it needs to be the biggest show on TV. Back in 2007, American Idol was estimated to be worth $2.5bn (£1.78bn) to Fox. Adjusted for inflation – and the continued slide of western civilisation into late-capitalist dementia – the US X Factor will ideally be worth more than Obama's entire economic plan to incentivise democratic change in the Arab world. It will certainly be 20 times more important. And so to Mike Darnell, former child actor, now the cowboy-hatted, ringletted munchkin in charge of Fox's apocalypse-beckoning reality schedule. If you are unfamiliar with Mike's work, he regards extreme plastic surgery as a plot device. He gave the world Temptation Island, and would have gifted it the TV special OJ Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened, had a joyless old prude – Rupert Murdoch – not cancelled it. According to one interview, Mike's favourite idea yet to make it to air is a "female prison beauty pageant. It was done in Croatia and is a big number waiting to happen. It's empowering to women, it's empowering to prisoners. The whole idea of going from prisoner to hot babe is interesting." Mike's single regret about airing Who's Your Daddy?, in which an adult adoptee had to pick her biological father from a line-up, was that the controversy generated "was outside the programme – so it doesn't translate into ratings". And in that deliciously post-moral aside, one can't help feeling, lies the ideological context for Cheryl's dumping. The "painful decision" can become a plotline in the first shows, and the aforementioned transatlantic shitstorm currently raging is guaranteed to translate into even higher ratings for the series. So it wouldn't be remotely contradictory for Mike to hail Cheryl as "the whole X Factor package" one minute and demand her head the next. As he once said of how he treats the Idol audience: "We want visceral emotions, regardless if they are good or bad." The question, of course, is when Simon knew it. He must have spotted what was bleeding obvious to even vaguely discerning viewers when Scherzinger guest-judged on the UK X Factor some months ago. Namely, that whatever "it" is, Nicole has more of it than Cheryl. Neither is exactly Vivien Leigh, obviously, but we get the stars we deserve. Did the Karaoke Sauron always know that Cheryl was going to crash and burn, which is why he had Nicole in a holding pattern, or whatever we're calling this oddly confected "co-host" role? It's such a riddle, isn't it? Never mind bomb-proof glass – Lost in Showbiz does hope the mirrors with which Simon's home is said to be lined are shatterproof. Otherwise they'd crack when he meets his own eye.

X Factor Judge Cheryl Cole Dropped From Show Because Of Accent(Photo-Video)

If the real reason Cheryl Cole was dropped as a judge from Fox’s upcoming U.S. remake of the popular U.K. talent competition The X Factor is to be believed, the producers are underestimating the American public’s intelligence, or at the very least, our ability to understand a British accent, to an almost insulting degree. TMZ is reporting that Cheryl Cole has been dropped from the upcoming Fox talent competition The X Factor because producers were “concerned her English accent would be too difficult for an American audience to understand.” Just for some frame of reference, below is a video featuring Cole on the British X Factor.

Watch it and see if you can figure out what she’s saying. Sure, she has an accent but would that really be an issue for American viewers? Simon’s been speaking with a British accent for an American audience for over a decade and somehow we’ve all managed to figure out what he’s talking about. Interpreting Paula Abdul’s commentary, on the other hand, was sometimes a challenge. Speaking of Abdul, TMZ adds that they were told that there is a “lack of chemistry” between Abdul and Cole. Whether that’s vague, insider-speak for “they don’t like each other,” or there’s simply something off in the dynamic between the two, it’s likely that it played at least some part in Cole being dropped and reportedly replaced by Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, who was originally set to co-host the show. If one of the two had to go, it’s logical that the producers would keep the more familiar face around. Accents can be toned down. This is just speculation, but I’m calling drama on this one.

Lady Gaga topples Oprah Winfrey on celebrity power list

Lady Gaga has knocked talk show host Oprah Winfrey from the top of Forbes' annual celebrity power list.

The US singer, who headlined Radio 1's Big Weekend in Carlisle at the weekend, moved up four places this year in the top 100.

Justin Bieber goes in at number three and Taylor Swift is at seven.

The Forbes Celebrity 100 list measures power by entertainment-related earnings, media visibility and social media popularity.

Forbes editor Dorothy Pomerantz said: "Lady Gaga beat Oprah this year because of her social media power.

"She can use Twitter and Facebook to work the 'little monsters' into a frenzy that leads to record sales and media attention.

"She's the best example of how celebrities will need to manage their careers in the coming years."

Forbes rated the American singer/songwriter number one, estimating her earnings in the past 12 months as $90 million (£55m) and she also has 34 million Facebook fans and more than 10 million Twitter followers.

Also making the top 10 are golfer Tiger Woods, rock bands Bon Jovi and U2, Elton John plus X Factor judge Simon Cowell and US basketball player LeBron James.

Other newcomers in the list include singer Katy Perry (12), British director and producer Christopher Nolan (47) and Hollywood actress Natalie Portman (75).

Britney Spears and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe move out of the list.

The total earnings of the top 100 dropped this year from a collective $4.7 billion (£2.9bn) to $4.5 billion (£2.7bn).

Fox Lineup Includes Simon Cowell, Dinosaurs, Mean Girls

After sustaining "American Idol" in the wake of Simon Cowell's departure, Fox Broadcasting is now bringing the wise-cracking talent judge back to its network in the fall to headline an ambitious slate of new shows, including several comedies and a drama with dinosaurs.

On Monday, Fox unveiled the details of its fall line-up, which includes "The X Factor," the splashy talent show that Mr. Cowell will judge, as well as "Terra Nova," a big-budget science-fiction drama about a family that travels back in time, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. "The X Factor," already a hit in Britain, will air Wednesday and Thursday nights, the same time slots during which "American Idol" is currently running.

 "We feel we have the gold standard in both 'Idol' and 'X factor,'" Fox Networks Group chairman of entertainment Peter Rice said on a conference call Monday morning. "There's an excitement and a buzz around ['X Factor'] that we've never seen before. We had more people show up for the audition than we ever had on Idol."

Fox is part of News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

In addition to its talent shows, Fox will add four new comedies to its roster of prime-time shows, which includes returning programs such as "Glee." A number of shows are disappearing from Fox's schedule, most notably "America's Most Wanted." The long-running Saturday evening show hadn't made money for the network for years, according to Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, and will now run as just a series of specials.

Network executives said that they expect "The X Factor" to draw similar audiences to "American Idol," which has continued to draw huge viewership. Just this season, "Idol" saw its audience increase by 3% and is averaging more than 24 million viewers a week.

Both "X Factor" and "Idol" may face general competition from NBC's stab at the genre, "The Voice." But on Monday, Fox's executives said they were confident in Mr. Cowell's ability to draw fans. "In Simon Cowell we have the absolute star of the genre at the pinnacle of his game," Mr. Rice said.

Overall, Fox says it will finish its TV season first in adults 18 years old to 49 years old. It averaged 9.7 million viewers this season, according to Nielsen Co., leaving it in second place behind CBS, which averaged 11.7 million viewers.

Looking ahead, Fox executives are focusing on "Terra Nova" as well as a slate of new comedies to keep younger viewers watching. It is bringing back "Raising Hope" and aggressively pushing two new shows, including "New Girl" starring Zooey Deschanel, which runs on Tuesday nights, and "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," which focuses on two mothers who realize their daughters have become so-called mean girls and will run on Wednesdays after "The X Factor."

"Terra Nova," which follows a family that travels back to the time to when dinosaurs ruled the earth, was originally supposed to premiere earlier, but will now run in the fall. Its first two-hour episode involved more than 250 sets. "It is unlike anything you've ever seen before," Mr. Reilly said Monday, adding that all 13 episodes of the show would run this fall "short of disaster."

Other dramas that Fox is launching mid-season include a new show from J.J. Abrams called "Alcatraz" after the infamous prison, as well as "The Finder," a one-hour procedural that follows an Iraq war veteran who turns a combat injury into a gift.

Is Paula Abdul fourth 'X Factor' judge?

Taping for the new Fox singing contest "X Factor" is scheduled to start Sunday. But only three of the expected four judges have been announced.

While the clock is ticking, the identity of the show's fourth judge, though widely expected to be Paula Abdul, remains unconfirmed.

Previously announced judges include pop superstar Cheryl Cole and Grammy-winning producer Antonio "L.A." Reid, as well as Abdul's former "American Idol" mate, Simon Cowell.

"The X Factor," based on Cowell's hit British show, will debut this fall on Fox. The likely choice of Abdul to be included is an open secret, fueled in part by Cowell's recent remarks that he would like to work with her again.

On Friday, negotiations with Abdul were continuing, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Fox and the show's producers had not authorized public comment.

Abdul is a dancer, choreographer and recording artist who reigned on "Idol" as the nice, if sometimes dizzy-seeming, judge who often clashed with Cowell, who played the role of bullyboy.

There was no immediate comment from Fox or from Abdul's agent or publicist.

In January, she debuted on CBS with her own talent competition, "Live to Dance," which was a flop.

"The X Factor" is open to solo singers and vocal groups age 12 and up. The winner gets a $5 million record contract.

TV networks are deciding who's in and who's out

As TV executives huddle in screening rooms the next few days, watching pilots for proposed fall series, they're having to adjust to a couple of big surprises.Not long ago few would have predicted that "American Idol" would still be TV's No. 1 show, even without Simon Cowell. And even fewer would have guessed that the most-watched comedy, "Two and a Half Men," would be facing life without Charlie Sheen.In fact, it's been a rough year for broadcasters all around. The major networks got pummeled by critics for a slate of uninspired new offerings last fall, which no doubt helps explain why each suffered notable ratings erosion this season. No. 4 NBC was hammered the worst, with double-digit declines in major categories, according to the Nielsen Co.So executives are facing tough decisions about the futures of some onetime audience favorites that might be bulldozed to make way for new series.

Among the long-running shows that are, in the industry's lingo, "on the bubble": ABC's family drama "Brothers & Sisters," NBC's perennially endangered comic caper "Chuck" and Fox's crime drama "Lie to Me." Their fates are likely to depend on how appealing the new pilots seem when executives watch them.Other series, such as NBC's heavily publicized "The Event," ABC's superhero drama "No Ordinary Family" and CBS' "The Defenders," are considered near-certain bets for cancellation.Despite its high ratings, "Two and a Half Men" should also be added to the "bubble" list, since Sheen was fired from the show amid a spectacular public meltdown and CBS and Warner Bros., the studio that makes the show, are scrambling to adapt the comedy without its big star. Most insiders consider it a foregone conclusion the show will return in some form, but the details have yet to be worked out."That's a decision they're going to have to make," Brad Adgate, an analyst at Horizon Media in New York, said of CBS. "If you don't have 'Two and a Half Men' on Monday night, what do you put there?"Luckily for CBS executives, their network is the one perhaps best-positioned to handle such uncertainty heading into the "upfronts," the annual selling season that begins later this month, when networks present their fall schedules to advertisers in New York. CBS is the most-watched network by far, although it's also the oldest-skewing, with an average viewer age of 55. Tuesday night, for example, is rock-solid on CBS with the "NCIS" franchise, one of the most popular on TV.Because it has the fewest holes in its lineup, CBS ordered just 16 drama and comedy pilots, compared with 22 for NBC and 24 for ABC. (Fox also ordered 16, but it programs just two hours on weeknights compared to three for its rivals.)But the Sheen case has created a major strategic problem. This season the network moved its sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" to Thursdays, where it has helped the network establish a comedy base on that night for the first time in years. "We got the beachhead we wanted," said Kelly Kahl, CBS' scheduling chief.If the network has to move ahead without "Two and a Half Men," executives might be forced to roll "Big Bang" back to Monday as well as delay a plan to try comedies on Wednesday. CBS officials have made it clear that they would not welcome such a retreat.Another complication for CBS: The enduring strength of "Idol." Many observers expected Fox's singing contest to fall apart without the snarky presence of Cowell, the show's putative star, who left to develop "The X Factor" for Fox this fall.But with new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez, "Idol" has remained a ratings powerhouse, even after its regular pattern was shifted from Tuesday-Wednesday to Wednesday-Thursday. Indeed, Fox is poised again to win the ratings race among viewers ages 18 to 49 — the category most advertisers covet — by at least half a ratings point over its nearest challenger, CBS."We confounded everybody," said Preston Beckman, Fox's scheduling guru, who added that the strength of the show "was always about the kids" who compete and not necessarily the judges.That doesn't mean Fox faces no challenges. The network served up one of this season's biggest flops, the drama "Lone Star," which was yanked after two airings. And Fox faces risky launches in the fall for "X Factor" and especially "Terra Nova," a costly sci-fi epic that is already generating rumors of production woes. Beckman characterized both premieres as top priorities for Fox. "X Factor" is considered a likely bet for Wednesday and Thursday this fall, the same slots occupied by "Idol."ABC finds itself in a much dicier position. Top shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" are aging. "Dancing With the Stars" is heavily dependent on casting and draws a relatively old audience. With the exception of the much-admired comedy "Modern Family," the network has gone years without creating a new hit. It remains unclear whether top programmer Paul Lee, who has been in the post less than a year, can engineer a turnaround this coming season."They really need hits," Adgate said. "Their franchise shows continue to show some audience erosion."Then there's NBC, which has been in a ratings free fall for the last few seasons. Bob Greenblatt, the former top Showtime programmer brought in by new owner Comcast, faces a steep hill in trying to make the network competitive again, with Monday and Wednesday nights in need of near-total makeovers.The one bright spot for NBC? Strong ratings for the premiere of "The Voice," the singing competition with star judges Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton. Many insiders consider it likely that the show will be retained for the fall schedule and likely be kept on Tuesdays, to avoid a conflict with "X Factor."Of course, it's still early, and much will depend on what happens in those dark screening rooms the next few days.The good news for the networks? This pilot season is looking a lot stronger than last year's.Looking over the list of 88 scripted pilots, Adgate said: "It seems like the networks are focusing more on the untraditional, are getting away from the typical dramas and comedies you get year in, year out."

Lopez chose 'Idol' over 'X Factor'

Jennifer Lopez turned down a role on the U.S. version of 'The X Factor' to become a judge on 'American Idol'.

The 41-year-old singer was approached by 'X Factor' boss and former 'American Idol' judge Simon Cowell about joining the show's much-speculated judging panel but decided to take part in Simon Fuller's rival talent search instead because it has been around for longer and "seemed a better fit".

She said: "We did talk about 'The X Factor' for a little bit. But at the end of the day, thinking about my career and everything that was going on, when the opportunity to do 'Idol' came along it seemed a better fit.

"'Idol' has been a show for so many years. It's an institution. To be involved in something like that felt really great."

The mother-of-two -- who reportedly signed a US$12m deal to join the panel of 'American Idol', alongside Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson -- says although she is enjoying mentoring young hopefuls she is unsure whether she will return to the show next year.

She told the Daily Star newspaper: "I don't know if I will do another season. I'm taking it day by day at the moment and we'll see what happens.

"I've been having a great time, I can't lie. I'm really enjoying it and having fun and enjoying working with the contestants."

Jennifer particularly likes being on the show because while she shares her experience and knowledge with contestants she gains inspiration from them.

She said: "You can't help but learn from them. You're talking about performing and singing and when you're watching them you see them and think: 'I do that.' It's been a great exchange back and forth."