Is anyone really entertained by listening to apprentice singers though? Take them away and train the little sods then unleash them when they don't need a bucket to carry a tune. We like the heightened emotion of the thumbs up/down aspect of the early rounds in whichever show. Personally preferred the old style X-F auditions; the soulless empty room with four people behind a trestle table, a cardboard backdrop, a fat bouncer and relatives listening outside in the corridor*. No backing track, no screaming crowd going into paroxysms of delight when a note is hit, every cracked note and awkward 'dance' move caught in close-up under unforgiving strip lighting. They seemed to get through a lot more 'hopefuls' then too, before the rot set in. *Especially heart-warming when some delusional in-breds burst back into the room yelling "You don't know what yer doin', our Shel's a brilliant singer!"