Bring back the “pants on the ground” guy! Simon Cowell is encouraging contestants to be risky in their X-Factor auditions, saying the judges need to keep an open mind.

Cowell told the Kansas City Star: “With Lady Gaga I was thinking the other day, I saw this picture where she showed up somewhere with a lobster on her head. What would we have said three or four years ago if she had walked into American Idol dressed like that-"

So true. They would’ve sent her to American Idol Reject Hell, which I hear is run by William Jung.

Auditions for the show have already started, and with this statement, I’m guessing the X-Factor will be a freak show with the occasional talented performer. So basically, American Idol.

The show will premiere this fall on Fox.