Britney Spears on X Factor

We watched the first episode of X Factor's Season Two last night. What struck me was that no matter the new host, no matter how " big " they are this show is still Simon Cowell's

The charisma he has is what all the rest of these shows are missing. Demi Lovato did a credible job in her first appearance. I do not know if she is a great judge but she seemed to fit the role. I have already discussed last year that I find L A Reid to be very unlikable and that has not changed.

The X Factor this year on X Factor is Brittany Spears. The first thing that struck me was the Britney does not look great. She is still, of course, very attractive, but,when one considers the makeup and hair treatment available to these folks, it is clear that Spears has had a tough life. Not a tough life like an average citizen but a life that with the personal problems and abuses she has suffered has made her older than her years. Watching her expressions as she watched the performers Spears did not feel like a star. She seemed like that girl you knew in high school who was really pretty, but not good with books, who knew she was pretty but was determined to use that prettiness to get her life set before it faded. In short she reminds you of a girl we all knew who married young, had two kids early, and then gained five pounds a year and watched the crows feet appear on her face. This while her classmates, less popular, less happy, in high school surpass in her accomplishment, but more importantly are also happier and more content.

This is not a reflection on Spears beauty. She is still attractive. She, for all i know, is a woman who tries hard to be a good Mom. She is however a caution for all of us, not of what happens when one becomes a music star, but what becomes of those that are on top of the world when they are young, with no foundation underneath. Spears was just a Louisiana girl pushed by her Mother into a world that only her talent was ready for, the rest of her was just a young woman who was more suited to marrying a young man working for his father's garage with a hope to inherit it . There is nothing wrong with this life. Nothing at all. Spears life however is a small story picture writ on a big picture screen of the importance of young women having self esteem brought my more, much more than their own beauty.

What does that have to do with X Factor. Not much. One wonders however if the average viewer will find Spears enjoyable or depressing. I do not know the answer.