‘X Factor’ Recap: 32 Amateur Singers Move Into the Judges’ Houses

As of last night, "The X Factor" is establishing itself as a viable creative competitor to "Idol." Differences between the two shows thus far have been welcome but minimal—groups are included, auditions are live, the bald black guy actually knows what he's talking about—but with the actual competition afoot, "X Factor" is becoming its own entity.

Sure, "The Voice" beat them to the "judges as mentors competing against each other" idea, but "Factor" is taking it one step further. From now on, the remaining singers will live in the home of their mentor-judge.

That means the judges can't clock in for a few hours to tutor their starry-eyed hopefuls and then return to their impregnable Hollywood castles. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger must learn to live with the talent they're fostering. Egos will assuredly clash, toilets will probably back up, and reality TV drama will be captured for our enjoyment.

As for which judge will be taking care of which category—boys, girls, groups and "over 30s"—here's the breakdown.

Eight "Over 30s" Living with Nicole Scherzinger

Nicole's reaction: Unabashedly ungracious. The Pussycat Doll made her disdain for her assignment abundantly clear. After she squealed "Really?" with contained horror, she jokingly-but-not-at-all-jokingly asked the faceless producer, "It's not the girls...you didn't mean to say 'girls,' did you?"

You can watch all four judges receiving their assignments here:

Why she's a bad fit: She's the youngest judge with the oldest contestants—sure, a few are younger than her, but she's never known what it's like to be over 30 and still struggling to make your dreams come true. Also awkward: She'll be mentoring two contestants who already have more vocal character than she does.

Her best bets for victory: In spite of her protests, she obviously has the strongest group of performers (the savvy L.A. Reid was gunning for her group). Stacy Francis (42-year-old soul singer) and Josh Krajcik (30-year-old burrito slinger) are the hottest talents they've found so far.

Eight Young Girls Living with Simon Cowell

Simon's reaction: Considering the above phrase will probably be the name of a Hefner-like reality show in thirty years, Simon seemed pretty pleased. Not for his own sake, of course! "I'm happier for them than I am for me," Simon generously explained to the camera, "Because I know they want me as their mentor." Who says chivalry is dead?

Why he's a good fit: Simon has more of an ear for young female voices than anything else: think Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Leona Lewis. I think he'd also excel at the Over 30s, but Simon never takes much of a shine to singers of his own gender (go figure). More importantly, there's no way his ego could share even the largest mansion with eight groups (meaning dozens) of singers.

Simon's best bets for victory: He has a tough category, actually. Thirteen-year-old Rachel Crow is sweet and likable but probably too young to take the competition, while Tiah Tolliver and Simone Battle are passable singers posing as pop stars. Going out on a limb, I think the self-confidence-free Jazzlyn Little and vocal powerhouse Melanie Amaro will go the furthest.

Eight Groups Living with Paula Abdul

Paula's reaction: Paula plays up her kooky side, but she knows what's what. When informed she'd be housing 30-35 (I lost count) singing hopefuls, her response was a polite but telling, "I'm excited, but I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed already." Rightly so. She'll never be able to find a free bathroom again.

Why she's a good fit: Sadly, Paula probably got the eight groups because she's the only judge with enough genuine kindness and patience to handle so many fragile egos (and divas) under one roof. But if they're lucky to have her, the opposite is hardly true. The group pickin's were so slim that existing duos and trios were turned down while the judges created two new singing collectives consisting of previously rejected boys and girls under 30.

Paula's best bets for victory: Unless those two newly-founded groups produce magical alchemy, she has very little chance of winning.

Eight Young Boys Living with L.A. Reid

L.A.'s Reaction: Good-natured sportsman hubris. After being informed he would mentor the boys, Reid threw his head back and let loose a resounding cackle that would have made a Disney villain jealous. "I think I just won," he told the camera, before adding, "But what did Simon get? That's what I want to know."

Why he's a good fit: Simon Cowell might be the most famous talent scout on the planet, but L.A. Reid outpaces him when it comes to fostering voices and turning them into cultural forces, e.g., Mariah Carey, Pink, Justin Bieber, Usher, Rihanna, TLC, et al.

L.A.'s best bets for victory: As a Stepford singer/model, Brennan Hunt will certainly go far and 14-year-old Brooklyn rapper Brian Bradley will impress and enchant audiences by virtue of existing. But it's the garbage collector/father/recovering addict/songwriter Chris Rene who possesses enough natural talent to earn the top spot, and to a lesser extent, the wiggle-hipped, eyebrow-shaved and emotionally authentic Nick Voss.