Simon Cowell has reportedly banned ‘X Factor’ contestants from singing Jennifer Hudson hits.
The 57-year-old music mogul is the creator of the ITV singing competition where he also acts as a judge alongside Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, and although the audition process has barely begun, tensions are already high.
According to The Sun newspaper, Simon has banned hopefuls from singing the track ‘And I Am Telling You’ by singer Jennifer Hudson, who is currently on the judging panel of rival talent show ‘The Voice’.
An insider spilled: "’X Factor’ and ‘The Voice’ may both be on ITV now but Simon still wants to be the best show and there’s rivalry there."
It is believed the decision comes after he stopped one girl part way through the hit during her audition in Manchester and told her it was "too heavily linked to another show".
The source continued: "This one girl tried to sing ‘And I Am Telling You’, which Jennifer sang in ‘Dreamgirls’, but Simon stopped her immediately and told her to sing something else. He did let her try another three tracks so it’s not like he shot her down there and then."
It’s not the only tweak that’s being made to auditions, as Simon is reportedly keen to hear contestants sing their own songs.
The insider added: "He’s pushing for singer-songwriters and told producers he wants all-rounders. There have been loads of people singing original songs. A girl band and a boy band in Manchester were particularly incredible, as well as a girl in her twenties who made Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger cry with her song."
The source claimed the performance was so good that Simon told her it would be "a hit tomorrow" if she were to release it now.
This year, ‘X Factor’ is even expected to contain less controversial joke acts such as last year’s rap artist Honey G and twin duo Jedward, as it’s claimed Simon wants the show to be "all about the music".
Simon Cowell bans X Factor contestants from singing Jennifer Hudson
