Last season’s “The X Factor” on FOX enabled fans to vote via direct messages, thanks to an assist from Twitter. And this Wednesday’s premiere of season 2 takes up Twitter’s favorite voting methodology — hashtags — by pitting a new slate of judges against each other in a popularity contest.
This season kicks off with the debut of judge Britney Spears. “She’s really, really difficult to please,” says Simon Cowell, who joins judges Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid to round out the panel. Each judge was asked to pick a hashtag in the “hashtag war,” Twitter says, and fans will help pick America’s most popular judge via hashtag voting and a web poll on TheXFactorUSA.com.
Alright guys! Tweet your favorite judge some love!#MrNiceGuy #QueenD #ItsBritney #ImEpic ow.ly/i/VdMu
— THE X FACTOR (USA) (@TheXFactorUSA) September 10, 2012
Soon after the poll was launched, #QueenD trended worldwide, if that’s any early indication.