Elton John has slammed TV talent show the X-Factor, saying that the show uses and abuses contestants, without considering whether they can build a sustainable career. The British national treasure told a radio DJ “They’re a bit like products, to be honest with you. They’re products, and the record comes out at Christmas, and it’s always number one, and then what happens next year?
Why aren’t they touring? Who’s managing these people? Why aren’t they building their career properly? That’s what worries me. You know, I don’t hate the X Factor: I hate what happens to people’s careers because it’s not thought about properly. I would never go on the X Factor or Pop Idol and judge somebody, because I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t judge another – it’s hard enough to be an act anyway. It’s hard enough to see someone in a hotel lobby playing a piano who’s really good and nobody gives a toss, you know. It’s like, ‘I’ve done that – it’s bloody hard work.’ So I’m on the artists’ side.”
