Britney Spears suffered 'panic attack' before X Factor appearance
Simon Cowell stepped in to reassure new judge
- X Factor is born: Taking the Pop Idol idea and giving it a radical overhaul (well, letting old people get involved), Simon Cowell premiered X Factor on ITV in 2004. Cowell was joined by jolly Louis Walsh and mad old bat Sharon Osborne. The show included a blind entrant and the winner, Steve Brookstein, disappeared after one hit single. No one gave it second though, it was just a bit of telly after all.
by David Renshaw | Photos by WENN.com
Tags: Britney Spears
Britney Spears has admitted that her nerves were so intense prior to her first appearance on The X Factor USA that she had a panic attack.
Though it sounds more like she is using 'panic attack' as shorthand for being a bit worried, rather than actually suffering a panic attack, Spears was nevertheless worried about the reaction she would get from the show's audience.
Speaking to Elle magazine about her first audition show, Spears said: "(I was) extremely nervous. I was having panic attack after panic attack."
However, show boss Simon Cowell was on hand to reassure her that everything was going to be OK and that the programme is going to be 'good for her'.
"On the first day, one hundred per cent she didn't think she was going to be able to do this," he says. "It's the Roman Colosseum - five thousand people booing if you say no. But I'm seeing this woman blossom week by week doing this. I think she's going to be good for the show, and I think the show is going to be good for her."
X Factor: from the early days to a bubble ready to burst
