Britney deliver sad news to ex-duet partner at the X-Factor auditioning

Britney's first true test as a judge--and the first sign that she might actually be able to handle this job--came when she had to face her ex-duet partner from her tour 10 years ago, a hard-luck 31-year-old named Don Philip. Don was a total emotional wreck the minute he reunited with his old friend Britney (who, to her credit, recognized Don right away--which is more than can be said for how Christina Aguilera reacted when her old colleague Tony Lucca auditioned on "The Voice" last season). But Britney kept it together, even when Don's audition of Beyonce's "Halo" went very, very awry.

 
Britney tells Don bad news
During Don's dreadful performance, a look of sadness clouded over Britney's face, then she nervously shifted her hand to her mouth, as she realized she'd soon have to tell Don some very bad news. When Don saw the pained, conflicted look in her eyes, he gasped in shock and cried out, "Britney! No!" But Britney did what she had to do, telling him flat-out, "Through the years, maybe you've gone through a lot of hardships and battles, but your voice really isn't up to the bar of the standards of 'The X Factor' and what we want."

Don left the show in tears, collapsing backstage. "Did you see Britney's eyes? I feel like I've hurt her. I never meant to hurt Britney! I'm so sorry, Britney." But Britney seemed to be faring much better after this emotionally charged incident.
 
Britney & Don 10 years ago

When Simon rushed to Britney's side to ask her how she was holding up, she simply  shrugged, "That was hard." And that was it. Really, if Britney can be this composed, and this honest, on the live shows, she could be an excellent judge.

Actually, Britney in general was much less of a wishy-washy softie than I'd expected, snarling one-liners like "I wanna know who let you onstage" to a lecherous 50-year-old break dancer who made her "uncomfortable," and spitting out enough cold-hearted "NO's" to merit their own 45-second montage. ("And they say I'm the mean one!" laughed Simon.) As one contestant put it, "If you're gonna get shot down, it might as well be by Britney." And Britney shot a lot of people down.