-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The wait is almost over . After months of hype , a reported $ 35 million in marketing costs and one high-profile judge switcheroo , Simon Cowell 's '' X Factor '' will finally premiere on Wednesday . But will it be one talent contest too many ? And can the show possibly be as big a hit in the U.S. as it is back in the UK ? I 've been eagerly anticipating the U.S. launch of `` The X Factor '' for a long time now and have been frequently posting updates on my site Remote Patrolled . As a reality TV producer , originally from the UK but now living here in the United States , I 'm very familiar with `` The X Factor '' format and its influence on British culture . For the past eight years , `` The X Factor '' has been the No. 1 entertainment show in British television , launching the career of several British pop stars and one international singing sensation , Leona Lewis . So can lightning strike twice ? In case you 're not too familiar with `` The X Factor '' back story , here 's a quick refresher . Over in England in 2001 , the ITV1 network unleashed a new talent contest called `` Pop Idol . '' The show became an instant smash , due in large part to its toughest judge , Simon Cowell , and an addictive elimination format . In 2002 , `` Pop Idol '' relocated to the U.S. as `` American Idol . '' That show became an even bigger hit , launching stars like Kelly Clarkson , Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood and making Cowell one of the richest people in show business . Now here 's where it gets really interesting . `` American '' Idol was overseen by Spice Girls guru Simon Fuller , leaving Cowell as a mere -LRB- highly paid -RRB- gun-for-hire with no stake in the show -- or the success of its artists . As vocal as Cowell has been about being competitive , it is not surprising that he wanted to run his own show and reap the subsequent rewards . So back in England , `` Pop Idol '' was canceled after two seasons and replaced by the Cowell-produced `` X Factor , '' resulting in some bad blood between the two Simons and a high-profile lawsuit -LRB- eventually settled -RRB- . The format of `` The X Factor '' is similar to `` Idol , '' but there are several key differences . On `` The X Factor , '' each of the four judges ` mentor ' a category of contestant : Males younger than 30 ; females younger than 30 ; groups ; and 30s and older . The show therefore becomes a contest between the judges as much as the contestants , often resulting in plenty of judges ' bickering -LRB- `` X Factor '' judges Sharon Osbourne and Dannii Minogue were reportedly barely on speaking terms by the end of their run on the show -RRB- . At the same time , the diversity of the contestants also makes the show rather different from `` Idol , '' which these days only seems to crown white male guitar players . One other key difference is that `` The X Factor '' is BIG ! Auditions take place in front of a live audience , rather than a tiny audition room . And as the show progresses , it 's the job of the judges to produce each of the contestants ' performances as though they were staging an awards show style performance . So `` X Factor '' finalists get dancers , elaborate sets and complex lighting arrangements in contrast to the `` static stand-and-sing '' style of `` American Idol . '' Those are the differences . But can `` The X Factor '' succeed in the fiercely competitive U.S. marketplace ? Back in England , the show faced little competition in the music competition genre . The BBC had `` Fame Academy '' -LRB- for which I produced all the live performance shows -RRB- and ITV1 had `` Popstars '' -LRB- a version of which also ran for two seasons here in the U.S. -RRB- , but both shows had effectively run out of steam by the time `` The X Factor '' launched . By contrast , the U.S. version of `` The X Factor '' is entering a crowded market dominated by a decade of the very successful '' American Idol . '' Then there 's NBC upstart `` The Voice , '' which came out of nowhere in the spring to achieve strong ratings , especially among the highly coveted 18-49 demo . And at the same time as `` The X Factor , '' NBC will also be rolling out a new season of another singing competition , `` The Sing Off . '' And those are just the success stories . Over the last few years countless music competition series have come and go . Remember `` Rock Star , '' `` The One , '' `` R U The Girl , '' `` Clash of the Choirs '' and MTV 's `` Top Pop Group ? '' Exactly ! Even this year we 've seen the heavily hyped `` Glee Project '' struggle on Oxygen , while Bravo 's `` Platinum Hit '' was an outright flop . Can `` X Factor '' buck the trend and become a bona fide phenomenon ? In large part , the success of `` The X Factor '' will depend on whether it can discover a true international superstar . Even Simon Cowell has admitted this will be the benchmark of the show 's success . Unfortunately this will also be the show 's toughest challenge . It 's been a long time since `` Idol '' discovered a true star . Not since Season 7 's David Cook has an `` Idol '' artist sold a million albums -LRB- though Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert has done reasonably well -RRB- , and Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery seems unlikely to buck the trend . And while `` The Voice 's '' Javier Colon has received plenty of critical kudos , `` The Voice '' finale was actually one of the lower-rated episodes of the season . It could be argued that the public appetite for music competition pop stars has already been sated . Another challenge for `` The X Factor '' is that `` The Voice '' has effectively stolen one of the key gimmicks of the Simon Cowell series -- the idea of judges as ` mentors ' who work with their contestants and are in a competition with one another . Even more damaging is that `` The Voice 's '' starry line up -- Christina Aguilera , Blake Shelton , Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green -- is a heck of a lot more contemporary , successful and A-list then `` X Factor '' judges Paula Abdul , Nicole Scherzinger and L.A. Reid . But `` The X Factor '' has one undeniable ace in its hand -- Cowell himself . After a pitiful season of `` Idol '' in which Steven Tyler , Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson could barely utter a word of criticism to any of the contestants , it will be refreshing to once again hear Simon 's sharp-tongued but truthful feedback . On this year 's `` Idol , '' everyone was ` amazing ' , resulting in a tedious series that eliminated strong contenders such as Pia Toscano far too early and neutered others such as Casey Abrams who needed some harsh truth telling to raise their game . Personally I think `` The X Factor '' will be a huge hit for Fox , enabling the network to dominate the fall season in much the same way it does the second half of the TV season . With all the hype and hoopla surrounding Cowell 's new show , audience awareness is higher than for any other show this season . The only remaining question is just how big will `` The X Factor '' be ? Can it possibly beat the 20 million plus audience `` Idol '' still routinely clocks up ? Or will it have to settle for the more modest 12 million to 14 million `` The Voice '' pulled in ? Knowing Simon Cowell , nothing less than No. 1 will be good enough . But for now it 's up for us the audience to decide .