Come on, Irene! The hurricane that swept the East Coast in August, leaving destruction in its path, also buzz-killed the premiere season of Simon Cowell's The X Factor ... by keeping guest "head mentor" Mariah Carey from appearing on the show.

Mimi was set to fly to Cowell's home in France to help determine which of the competition show's top 32 girls would move forward, but her flight was grounded when the hurricane hit.

"The good news is I have chosen myself to be my head mentor," Cowell told a clearly not thrilled group of girls. "It's like having me twice."

The remaining contestants, who were split into three categories, had better luck. The boys group faced L.A. Reid and his guest mentor Rihanna at Reid's Hamptons home. The contestants over 30 years old performed for Nicole Scherzinger and Enrique Iglesias in Malibu. And the musical groups duked it out in front of Paula Abdul and Pharrell Williams in Santa Barbara, California.

The results will be broadcast on Sunday's episode of The X Factor. Hopefully the contestants who make it to the next round will get a rain check from Mariah.