The X Factor premiere may have lost the ratings battle to The Voice last night, but perhaps Simon Cowell can console himself with the fact that his show won the social media sweepstakes decisively. Mashable reveals the details. Make sure to check out the Handy Infographic At This Link.
The X Factor season two premiere Wednesday night ignited 1.4 million comments from viewers on Twitter and Facebook, making it the most talked about premiere for a series ever.
In comparison, rival singing competition The Voice premiered Monday and generated 202,000 comments. The Voice premiere, however, won the TV ratings with an average of 12.3 million viewers compared with X Factor‘s 8.5 million.
A tear-jerking audition of Jessie J’s “Who You Are” from Jillian Jensen incited the most activity, with viewers commenting heavily on judge Simon Cowell’s reaction to it. Cowell, who first became a household name in 2002 as the brutally honest judge on American Idol, choked up and admitted he “lost it” for the first time in his life.
At its peak, the emotional moment netted 17,067 comments per minute, Bluefin Labs tells Mashable.
A Twitter battle, pitting Cowell against fellow judges Britney Spears, Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid also helped rake in social engagement. The show had urged fans to vote for their favorite judge with hashtags.
The Top 5 Premieres this year are:
1. X Factor 1.4M
2. Pretty Little Liars 890K
3. Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta 624K
4. American Idol: 518K
5. The Bad Girls Club 493K
