Opinion: Why Last Night's 'X Factor' Was Better Than 'American Idol'

"The X Factor" isn't Simon Cowell's first vocal competition rodeo, so when he starts saying that he "hated" last week's live results show and compares it unfavorably to "American Idol," it's worth listening. Cowell told THR that last week's show was "a bit 'Idol,' like, 'You'll find out... after the break.' Where have I heard that before?'"

He's right, too: last week's episode was pretty weak, including the underwhelming performance from Outasight, whom nobody had ever heard of before their Pepsi commercial, which was created for "The X Factor" anyway. It was incestuous and self-promoting, and that's "Idol" in a nutshell as well.

But this week, the results show was vastly improved. So much so, in fact, that it was better than any results episode of "Idol." Why? It would be easy to point at the hosts, Ryan Seacrest for "Idol" and Steve Jones for "X Factor," but it goes even deeper than that. The reason last night's show was great was the honesty.

First, the format: there was no time spent (as it so often is on "Idol") promoting a sponsor. While "Idol" will have two or more segments celebrating Coke or Ford or whoever needs to promote something that week, "Factor" followed a tight schedule: clip package of the contestants' performances from last night, followed by two musical guest performances, followed by the saves, followed by the eliminations. No BS in between.

More than that, though, the show stopped its pre-produced tendencies and got real. That moment when Jessie J started hitting on a slightly caught-off-guard Steve Jones made me pay attention. Was it awkward? Yes, but it was entertaining too.

And when Paula just couldn't get herself to cast a vote? Sure, it was overdramatic and a predictable Paula moment, but it wasn't planned. You could tell because of Simon's impatience, the general confusion, and the clear fact that the producers were yelling in Steve's ear. And when Paula made her decision and cast her vote, Steve gave an honest reaction, one that all of us at home probably also gave: he rolled his eyes and groaned "finally!"

These are the moments we don't get with Seacrest. To his credit, that's just because he's a good host: he's precise, he's calm, he always knows how to direct the show where it needs to go. But Seacrest may be too good. In all that precision, we lose the moments where something happens and nobody quite knows what to say.

And those moments, folks, make for some good television.