Britney Spears in new 'The X Factor' season 2 promo

The X Factor is nearing its return to Fox, and it’s marching in to the tune of “…Baby One More Time.” Hey, if you were promoting new judge Britney Spears, you’d take every opportunity to use her ’90s hits in ads, too, right?

In a new promo for the sophomore season of the music competition show, Spears says in voiceover, “It’s really kind of hard to tell some people ‘no.'” Well, she must have not had too much difficulty bashing contestants lacking in sufficient talent. A second later she says, “I wanna know who let you on stage.”

Check out the Spears-centric promo below, including a moment that Simon Cowell didn’t hesitate to proclaim “awkward!”

Season 2 of The X Factor begins airing on Fox Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 8/7 c.

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