What did I think of the "X Factor" debut? I sort of  liked it; of course, I also liked it when it was called "American Idol."

If there were anti-cloning laws in Hollywood, this show would face capital punishment. It's mostly "Idol" with a few "America's Got Talent" touches added for, well, originality.

What did I think of the "X Factor" debut? I sort of  liked it; of course, I also liked it when it was called "American Idol."

If there were anti-cloning laws in Hollywood, this show would face capital punishment. It's mostly "Idol" with a few "America's Got Talent" touches added for, well, originality.

I have to step out in a minute to start taking singing lessons. Also, charisma lessons. Also ...

Anyway, today Simon Cowell announced that he'll give a $5 million prize to the winner of "The X Factor," a show he'll produce and star in this fall. Cowell talked with reporters this afternoon; here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

This is sort of like politician double-speak: I was right about "American Idol" before I was wrong.

I had predicted (see an earlier blog) that Lee DeWyze would win. Then -- after Crystal Bowersox's sensational work Tuesday (ignore the previous blog) -- I switched to her.

Consider that wishful thinking. Instead, viewers have taken the same route for two straight years -- choose the likable guy with a pleasant voice (Kris Allen, Lee) over the fresh and stunning talent (Adam Lambert, Crystal).

This is something I don't usually do -- taking a story that I send to papers and also putting it on my blog. Still, I make an exception for "American Idol" (a bloggy subject) and especially for this story, in which Simon Cowell has some interesting thoughts about his eventual replacement. Here we go:

For a couple weeks, you may have noticed, nothing was happening on this Web site. There were no new blogs, no new TV columns, no signs of life.

That was due to a quirky hotel system, which may or may not have been biased against the island of Tuvelo. Now, however, things are back to normal. I've updated the TV columns through tonight and will soon add more, through the weekend.

Also, I have a lot to blog about. First, I should explain:

Maybe I should have realized that magazine covers aren't always truthful. In his autobiography, David Brown admitted writing the cover blurbs for Cosmopolitan (which his wife, Helen Gurley Brown, edited) without bothering to read the stories.

Still, I fell for it again. There was TV Guide, with a cover photo of Simon Cowell and the giant yellow headline: "Why I'm Leaving Idol."

OK, that's a twist I didn't see coming.

After Tuesday's "American Idol" (see previous blog), I predicted that Matt Giraud would have the fewest viewer votes, with Lil Rounds second-fewest and Anoop Desai third.

That much turned out to be true. What I never would have guessed was that judges would use their rescue -- the only one they get all season -- to save Giraud.

They did, which sort of makes sense. He's a good singer who just never quite got anything special out of his song this week, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?"

"Anerican Idol," like life itself, starts with Adam.

There are no average singers left; there are six very good ones and Adam Lambert, who is on a different level. Like the best "Idol" singers (Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, etc.), he has a great voice. Like a few (Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice) he commands a stage. And then he goes a step beyond, packing originality. This guy has dared to do a song Mick Jagger did ("Satisfaction") and a song everyone did ("Born to Be Wild"); he Adam-ized them. He keeps doing that.

Until tonight, Simon Cowell was having a great year. Time after time, his comments have been strong, to the point and correct.

Now, alas, he's been terribly, brutally wrong. In particular, his Adam Lambert comments were the exact opposite of the truth.

Sure, we're used to the Johnny Cash version of "Ring of Fire." But when you listen to the words, you realize that Lambert's version fits. Cash sang of mild discomfort, Lambert sang of writhing, Hellish pain; both served the words beautifully.