The host of the Fox singing competition explains he was a bit naïve coming into the show.
It’s no secret that Steve Jones’ hosting style on The X Factor’s first season has generated a lot of criticism from fans.
Yet, by no means is Steve a newbie to the medium. He has been hosting TV shows on British TV now for more than seven years. He admits, though, that he is new to the size of a show like The X Factor.
“[I was] naïve in the sense that I’ve never done what I do on this scale,” he explains to reporters after Thursday’s finale. “And maybe, I didn’t realize the level of the criticism that people go through when they’re working at this level. It shocked me a little bit. It didn’t particularly upset me, I suppose. It shocked me, I was naïve coming into it.”
And while one would think that the American audience would present some difference to the one he caters to back in the U.K., he says they were actually quite similar. He does admit that there’s a difference in attitude when it comes to America’s television industry, though.
“It’s different in the sense that it’s bigger, you feel like anything’s possible,” he says. “You walk into a meeting in America and it’s like, ‘How big can we make the show?’ And in Britain it’s more like, ‘OK, let’s think about what can go wrong, think about what can go right. Let’s think this through before we commit.’ We’re a bit more cautious with our TV in Britain, I think. Here it’s like, ‘Let’s make it massive.’ I like that. I like both those schools of thought I really do.”
Steve says that the experience of hosting the Fox singing competition was “a hell of a ride.” And while reports have surfaced that he won’t be returning next year, the handsome 34-year-old has said that he’s still waiting to hear if he’ll be asked back to the show.
“If they’ll have me, I’ll be back in a second,” he says. “Who wouldn’t want to do this again? It’s been awesome, loved it.”
