the x-factor

[odm]

I was working and did,nt get to see everyone sing in x factor tonight. I have caught a bit of the results and realised that it was a sing off between Eton Road and Robert.

I am a bit upset that Robert has gone. He really does have a very good voice and huge potential once he calms down and settles himself more. Eton Road and Ray have been found out as cheating before going on x-factor. Its been in the news and digispy that they were all going to join together and be a boyband as they both had the same Agent in Liverpool. If you remember the other band..was it second avenue, ( forgotten their name already) were disqualified for the same thing..

Somehow these two acts are still there despite all the stuff in the papers. Well I like both Eton Road and Ray, but I still think Robert should have stayed tonight and perhaps Eton Road should have gone. I think though, they are very popular and will be around a bit longer yet. I still am not falling head over heels with Leona like everyone else and feel SO mean...but she is just anothe Mariah and its been mentioned so many times now by others who can see the same thing I do...this girl is great when it comes to love songs..she reminds me of a streisand mixed with mariah carey. Mariah Carey recently has been losing all her audiences and ticket sales apparently have been very poor...I really want Leona to have a stylist that somehow points her in any direction other than Mariahs as Mariah is really old news.. I do repeat myself I know but sometimes good talent goes to waste because of bad management and poor stylists. I hope Leona does not fall prey of these things, but to be honest...I honestly think there is not much more to Leona that a few good ballads have not already shown.

Hope Robert gets a break somewhere...hes a nice boy with a good heart....

[battybetty]

Yup Izzy I have to agree with a lot of what your say there.

Maria dons her black arm band for the lovely Robert, cruelly slashed by Simon while still in his prime. Even though, by Simon's own admission, he'd given a better performance than Eaton Road.
And once again the wrong acts were in the bottom two. I despair of the voting public in this series. Are we really a nation of tone deaf viewers! I don't get it.
The Macdonald Brothers are 'nice' but hardly the stuff stars are made of. Ten a penny pub singers! And for me, Rays cuteness doesn't make up for the fact that it all feels like he's just mimicking stars from another era. He may be good at it but I fail to see how it could ever be enough to make him a star in his own right. There's nothing new or unique about it after all! I can imagine him possibly doing ok in musical stage shows but even then with limitations. Mind you, if they ever do a re-make of Bugsy Malone he'd be well sorted!

I suspect Simon was voting tactically tonight ...its getting close to the final stages and he may be taking a rare opportunity to remove some of what he sees as Leona's main opposition. He's gone on at length for weeks about the fact the people don't vote for women to win, so he will be looking for ways to stack the odds a bit. Coupled with the fact that his comments towards The Macdonald Brothers and Eaton Road indicate that, in his opinion, Ben and Robert would be her main rivals for the final three. I think the public have shown a different view (gawd help us) but I hope it blows up in his face.

I thought Simon's attitude tonight was dreadful and Im heartily sick of all the pathetically puerile bickering between the judges. Its become a hallmark of the the series and always escalates in middle stages of the finals and then they all go nicey-nicey on each other again towards the very end. They should leave all the voting to the public and stop the judges stale efforts to score points off each other and steal the bliddy limelight from the contestants all the time.

If there ever was a time when I found their silly squabbling entertaining, it's long since worn thin. IMO watching them brazenly display their ego's is contrary to the point of the show and despite Simon's repeated claims of 'professionalism' it clearly anything but professional behavior.
On a few occasions in the last few years, the judges have made it perfectly clear that they have cast votes with the intention of spiting each other. They've put their own motives before the contenstants and purpose of the show. There has been some mention of the whole thing being staged. I think perhaps its' true that they're encouraged to display rivalry with each other, but at times there is clearly some very real bitterness between the two men in particular.

I mentioned after the final contenstants were announced that my favorites hadn't even made the final stages, and that there wasn't really anyone this year who was memorable enough to capture my imagination. Even Leona's great voice is something Im content to live without, as there is still something which irritates me about her, especially when she speaks!

All in all I hold with my comments from the start. I think will have forgotten the lot of them within two weeks of the series ending! I already have to think really had to remember who left two weeks back...or three....and so on. Yet I still remember characters from last year and the year before vividly. Says it all really. I'll have to follow Ben now that Robert is gone, he ticks a lot of the boxes but Im still not convinced he's memorable enough to have lasting appeal either!

[odm]

Very good comments there Maria and they echo immaculately my own thoughts.

I have long doubted the public has anything to do with the voting though... it is an entertainment show and in respect of all these kinds of shows, have wondered if the viewers are encouraged to participate just to get the money on the phone votes. I dont know.

Anyway, its all got silly now and the real stars are becoming the judges and not the contestants and they obviously want Leona to win.

Boring then is,nt it?? lol ;D

[julian]

battybetty said:

I suspect Simon was voting tactically tonight ...its getting close to the final stages and he may be taking a rare opportunity to remove some of what he sees as Leona's main opposition. He's gone on at length for weeks about the fact the people don't vote for women to win, so he will be looking for ways to stack the odds a bit. Coupled with the fact that his comments towards The Macdonald Brothers and Eaton Road indicate that, in his opinion, Ben and Robert would be her main rivals for the final three. I think the public have shown a different view (gawd help us) but I hope it blows up in his face.

I think Simon was voting tactically but not in the way you think. His primary concern is to make the show as entertaining as possible and to give the public what they want. This was Robert's third time in the bottom two which made it pretty clear the public didn't want him. There was no way he was a threat to Simon and if was really voting tactically to ensure a win for Leona he would have ejected Eton Road instead. Eton Road are the ones with the support, not Robert, and their poor performance this week was not typical of their performances to date.

His decision also proves that he was not motivated by spite or personal feelings towards Louis. Despite taking a lot of abuse from Louis during the show he still saved Louis' act.

I think Simon actually has a lot of integrity. He has even been known to vote off his own act if he things that the other act deserves to stay more.

At the end of the day the winner gets signed to his record label no matter who is mentoring them. It's in his interest to ensure that the winner is the one most likely to do well for his company and that's how he makes his decisions. It's not about spite or partisanship.

Regards

Julian

[julian]

odm said:

I have long doubted the public has anything to do with the voting though... it is an entertainment show and in respect of all these kinds of shows, have wondered if the viewers are encouraged to participate just to get the money on the phone votes. I dont know.

If that were the case it would constitute major fraud. If the authorities found out I would imagine that a number of people would be going to jail for it!

I really don't think they'd risk it. If the results are what the public want then they may as well let the public vote that way. If the results aren't what the public want then the show becomes annoying to the public and, therefore, less entertaining. Either way I don't see any benefit in fixing the voting

Regards

Julian

[Harvestgoddess]

;D I know lots of you are not big fans of those lovley scottish lads but honestly i thought they ROCKED last night even simon was impressed finally im so happy for them bot but i missed the end does anyone know who went eton rd or ben ?

[battybetty]

harvestgoddess said:

;D I know lots of you are not big fans of those lovley scottish lads but honestly i thought they ROCKED last night even simon was impressed finally im so happy for them bot but i missed the end does anyone know who went eton rd or ben ?

Just watching it at the moment kirstie. Eaton Road are out and Im relieved to say Ben is still there. Im keeping quiet about the brothers

[Harvestgoddess]

LOL well im glad bens still there i really hope he wins but the brothers are my second choice

[julian]

The Mac Donalds were pretty lousy with their first song. It was the usual plodding, uninspiring performance which Simon summed up perfectly with the word 'Dreary'.

Their second performance was actually pretty good. I would say it was more entertaining than both Ray and Eton Road but I think that was down to the song as much as anything.

Personally, I think that the Mac Donalds getting so far is a triumph of likeability over musicality, sympathy for the underdog over talent. I was shocked to see Ben in the bottom two. I guess it depends what you think the show is about but, personally, I think at this point it would be a travesty if the final was anything other than a battle between Ben and Leona.

Just my opinion

Regards

Julian

[Harvestgoddess]

Agree on that julian but oh how i like those brothers and i love that proclaimers song anyway and being as they remind me of the proclaimers it was perfect for them