Note to future X Factor hopefuls: Don't cover Britney Spears' greatest hits, or risk not making it to the next round!
During The X Factor auditions in Greensboro, North Carolina July 9, Spears was at a loss for words when a contestant dressed in drag performed a cover of her 1999 smash, "(You Drive Me) Crazy."
Spears, 30, looked visibly bothered as the male contestant, dressed partially as a woman in cat glasses and a bedazzled jean jacket, struggled to sing her pop classic. The Grammy winner eventually left the judges' table and joined her fiance, Jason Trawick, 40, in the production pit; Demi Lovato, 19, and L.A. Reid, 56, followed Spears off stage, though Simon Cowell, 52, stayed behind to critique the aspiring singer.
"I don't think she quite understood your tribute," Cowell told the X Factor hopeful. "You've got to be able to sing in tune. There wasn't a note in tune."
The teary-eyed singer explained that he "had to fight real hard to get here," and claimed that because he's on welfare and can't afford to pay his phone bill, he nearly missed his X Factor audition call.
Spears eventually returned to the stage, sans Lovato and Reid. With her arms crossed, she leaned into Cowell's microphone and said, "I really respect the tribute. It was really nice, but I just don't feel like it's for X Factor. Sorry, sweetie."
With that, the Greensboro Coliseum booed the "Criminal" singer as she walked off stage yet again. "Britney just stormed off the set because a guy did a tribute to her," one attendee tweeted. "She's such a bitch!"
The X Factor will premiere September 12 on FOX.
