Louis Walsh and his fellow X Factor judges will be in Dublin today for the first time since 2010, when a certain 16-year-old turned up and blew everyone away (some Mullingar lad called Niall apparently). So no pressure there for those auditioning in Croke Park!
Recalling that last time in Dublin, Walsh told RTÉ TEN in an exclusive interview: "I think we had Katy Perry, Simon and Cheryl. This time around it's Sharon Osbourne and Nicole. It's our last day of auditions because we've all the other auditions done now.
"The background team has already been here, so we'll see whoever they picked. They pick whoever they like and we'll see them, in Croke Park. Then we audition, we interrogate them, we find out the ones with personalities.
"We're not just looking for great singers," he adds. "We want personalities, and people with ambition and work ethic and all of that."
Louis recently returned to The X Factor after a year out and insists that he's really enjoying the experience, and that the days of bickering judges are very much a thing of the past.
"It's going fantastic with the new judges," says the 63-year-old Mayo man. "They're the best. It's fun, it's like the way it used to be in year one and year two. We all get on incredibly well, Sharon and Nicole are brilliant. They're just very funny."
If anything, the year away from the X Factor glare has done Walsh a lot of good. He certainly sounds in great form, totally relaxed and enjoying himself. He feels it's invigorated both him and the show.
"Yeah," he says. "I had a year off and I had a great time. It was the best thing ever, not to be there - especially when the ratings were down. It was great and I had a really good time.
"But this time around it's just brilliant fun. It's not like work anymore. We show up and we have a great time. We all know each other very well and we just, y'know, we have fun."
So what else is new on X Factor? Well, according to Walsh, the show's gone global.
"At the end of the day we have to find talent, but we're getting a lot of people coming from all over the world," he says. "Literally, from every country in the world there's somebody showing up to the auditions for X Factor in the UK."
And as the show's star search hits Dublin, he's anticipating some genuine talent to impress himself and the other three judges...like this cheeky blond fella.
"I expect to get some really good people here," he insists. "And I hope we get somebody really good for the live shows. I'm sure we will. Definitely. And it is to do with personality, and attitude and work ethic. It's all those things."
With all this positivity, there's very little gossip emanating from The X Factor. Indeed, Louis was never shy when it came to a bit of chat about the goings-on behind the cameras, but this time around he's oozing good vibes.
"It's all going really, really well," he says, with a little chuckle. "Dermot O'Leary's back on board and it's just the old team. Simon's laughing an awful lot. It's like the good old days.
"And being back in the small audition rooms is brilliant, because with those big arenas you can't hear the people properly," he adds. "It's now more intimate and more personal."
Speaking of laughter, himself and Sharon are bound to spark off each other again like this side-splitting encounter during a previous Dublin audition.
