From left: Demi Lovato, Paulina Rubio, Kelly Rowland, Mario Lopez and Simon Cowell
Nino Munoz/FOX
Simon Cowell was joined by three talented female judges – Demi Lovato and newcomers Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio – and girls also ruled the opening night on stage.
Lillie McCloud, a 54-year-old Florida mother of three and grandmother of seven, took the stage in a Halle Berry Catwoman leather bodysuit looking half her age. She belted out "Alabaster Box" by CeCe Winans, bringing Rowland to tears and prompting Lovato to say, "I feel like I'm listening to Whitney!"
Then, 13-year-old Rion Paige, who was born with a birth defect of her hands, blew the judges away with a version of "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood, the singer Simon said the girl called to mind.
"I'm going to remember this audition for a long time," he said.
Spears even made a cameo – sort of. The boyfriend-girlfriend duo of Alex & Sierra performed a stripped-down, folk version of her song "Toxic" that earned them a unanimous pass to the next round.
While two new judges joined the panel, not all changes were new on Wednesday. Contestants will be broken into four categories this season – girls, boys, groups and over 25s – a format that recalls Season 1.
Will girls rule again tonight? Will Simon discuss his baby? Part two of The X Factor premiere airs Thursday on FOX at 8 p.m. ET.
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