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Simon Cowell: 'X Factor' Boot Camp Is 'Uncomfortable'

'You really do feel what it's like to be a contestant on one of these shows,' he tells MTV News.

As if early episodes -- and folks like [article id="1671780"]Brian Bradley[/article], [article id="1671246"]2Squar'd[/article] and that dude who [article id="1671186"]ripped off Prince[/article] -- haven't already proven the point, "X Factor" has been working overtime to prove that it's nothing like "American Idol."

And if for some reason you're still not seeing the differences, well, just wait until the "Factor" kicks off its Boot Camp on Wednesday night's show. Because, as judge Simon Cowell told MTV News, unlike the high-gloss "Idol" Hollywood Week, Boot Camp will be, well, real.

"I've seen them all and I've made a ton of them, [and] what I do know, because obviously I was there, [was] that I wanted to show the viewers what actually happened," he said. "So the first cut you get is the producer's cut, where everything's fantastic and I'm hilarious, whatever, whatever. But that was not the week I saw. Just show the process -- the good, the bad, the terrible. Let the audience make their own mind up.

"I mean, it's quite uncomfortable," Cowell continued. "[And] I haven't seen the finished cut yet, but it's a lot, lot better, and you really do feel you know what it's like now to be a contestant on one of these shows and what we felt; we were under pressure as well."

Highlighting that pressure is the added emphasis on choreography, which really comes to the forefront during Boot Camp -- for better or worse. But, as Cowell said, viewers will get to see it all, because that's what auditioning for a singing competition is really like.

"It wasn't a test. We didn't judge them on it. We just said that if you wanted to be a star today, you're going to have to be on a stage in front of lots of people, and sometimes you're going to have to learn how to dance," he said. "Certain people just flatly refused to do it, other people tried and failed miserably, and then other people we were kind of drawn to because we thought, 'You should try it ... we're looking at you.' "

Are you looking forward to Boot Camp on "X Factor"? Let us know in the comments!

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