‘The X Factor’ bosses have reportedly scrapped the judges vote from the current series.
The talent competition has been given a shake up ahead of the live shows on Saturday (28.10.17), as judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne will not be able to save one of the acts who make it to the bottom two, and the decision will be solely left to the public instead.
And because of this change the contestant with the lowest votes will be booted off the show immediately and will not be required to take part in a sing off with their peer as part of their final plea to stay on the show.
The alterations to the shows set up have been made because the 58-year-old music mogul – who has three-year-old son Eric with his partner Lauren Silverman – believes the sing off became "sour", and the businessman would prefer to "celebrate the best acts".
A source told The Sun Online: "The sing-off had been popular but Simon believed that it had become sour and focused too much on who was leaving rather than championing the talent who was in the lead.
"He wants to celebrate the best acts on the show rather than give screen time to the less popular performers who haven’t struck a chord with the public."
However, the decision to get rid of certain aspects of the programme doesn’t mean the critiquing panel will have no input in the upcoming episodes, as they are still able to put forward their opinion on the performances.
The insider continued: "It does mean though that there is little point in the judges being there, apart from offering their opinion. They will have no direct impact on who goes or who stays."
And the shows bosses hope the "huge changes" will "boost interest" in this year’s ‘The X Factor’.
The source said: "But bosses hope the huge changes will boost interest in the programme and keep viewers watching."
The overhaul will also see special performances from guest artists on every episode, which will see former ‘The X Factor’ competitor Liam Payne – who has seven-month-old Bear with partner Cheryl Tweedy – wow crowds when he takes to the stage, as well as Stormzy, who served as a guest judge for the former Pussycat Dolls band member during the Judges Houses round.
And Saturday’s episode will also see the Wild Cards, which are an additional four acts who were not selected to go through to the live shows, announced.
The X Factor bosses make drastic changes to live shows
