The X Factor – what’s it best known for? Turning out quality singers and amazing pop stars who go on to worldwide acclaim? Showcasing new and exciting talent?
Well, no. Not really. It’s known for bickering between the judges, bad singers being put through for no discernable reason and Simon Cowell masterminding the whole thing like a modern day Svengali.
So has this carried on with this season’s series? Absolutely it has.
Bad Decisions at the Judges Houses
This is the stage where the odd decisions are usually made. Pretty much every year the judges make decisions about who to put through to the live shows that confuse everyone watching. There are tears, histrionics and more sob stories than you can shake a stick at.
This year, some would say Sharon O made a bad decision by not putting through Joseph Wheelan, who was booted out last year as well at the same stage. Every given opportunity the guy mentioned his son and his single father status, which made him seem like a definite, but at the last minute Sharon booted him.
But were her choices any good? Sam Bain has an undoubtedly good voice but appears to have had an entire professional singing career beforehand, which has dented her odds to win. Betting is, of course, a pretty big deal with many thinking it’s gonna be rough copy to win xfactor. She also chose Lorna and, perhaps most surprisingly the rather atrocious Shelley Smith over the sob story Joseph.
Bad Decisions on the Stage
Well, there’s been plenty, it has to be said. Having ‘artists’ like Sam Callahan and Luke Friend is almost an insult to all the contestants, present and past. They legitimately struggle to sing and are very much obviously there for their image. Callahan in particular clearly struggles immensely with the vocals and it’s a very difficult decision on Louis Walsh’s part to understand.
Louis also chose to put through Nicholas McDonald, who although kind of sweet and young is no pop star. In the same vein is Abi Alton, the consciously ‘quirky’ contestant who is completely outclassed by the other girls in her category.
Most contentiously of all, perhaps, is the truly terrible Kingston Road in the groups category. They are an awful blatant rip off of One Direction except that they can’t sing at all and they dress like drunk toddlers.
Judge v Judge
Gary’s groups seem to be the worst on the whole, with Miss Dynamix failing to hit any high notes, although Rough Copy redeems him somewhat. Sharon O is blatantly relying on Sam Bain and her powerhouse of a voice and, although she seems a nice enough lady, who’s going to buy her records?
It seems most likely that Nicole Scherzinger is going to win the whole thing again, as she has managed to select girls who can sing and look great. Their voices and performances are improving week on week and she clearly has a great rapport with them that genuinely seems to help them get better.
Tamera Foster is an amazing performer with a great voice and although she was Nicole’s wild card entry, it looks like she could come good and win the entire contest, even though she’s only 16.