Thursday 9 December 2010

X Factor...Don't believe the hype!

So, the latest series of the X Factor draws to it's long, drawn out conclusion this weekend with the 'Grand Final' and if you believe Simon Cowell you would think it has been the best series yet. However strip away all the hype and what are you actually left with? Some decent-ish karaoke singers and four judges! Oh and Dermot O'Dreary!!
Of course with the final approaching the show has been in the news this week, with beaten semi finalist Mary claiming the voting is rigged. Really?? Now I am one of the shows biggest cynics but even I cannot believe the vote has been fixed. After all the controversy over phone-in competitions in the past I cannot believe that Cowell would run the risk in his biggest show. However if anyone actually thinks the public decides who goes through then think again...
Right from the beginning the producers and the judges had already decided who they wanted to see in the final and they have used the show and the media to influence the public vote. It is exactly the same trick that goes on with shows like Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity. Edited to suit them. Subtle brainwashing of the public to get them to vote the way they want. Throw in a sob story or two, tell everyone certain acts are 'great' or 'fragile', get them in the papers all the time, speak to their ex-partners. All one big trick to manipulate the voting.
Of course Mary was upset she didn't make the final, but there can be no doubt it was the right decision. The one thing she did not have was the X Factor, which is meant to be what the show is about. Yes she could hold a tune, but surely you need something different, something extra, to win the show? At least that is how it should be.
And what was all that about her being an 'ordinary' woman? Why? Because she was overweight and worked in Tescos?? Is Rebecca not just an ordinary girl from Liverpool? Or Cher just an ordinary teenager from Worcestershire? Yet none of the judges ever mentioned that. Yes it was just about the way she looked and if Mary really wanted to be in the final then she had 12 weeks to lose a bit of weight and start looking more like a pop star. But she didn't and got voted off. Now back to the check out you go, unless your job has been taken by someone who has actually turned up for work over the last 12 weeks!
Simon Cowell obviously sees her as the next Susan Boyle, but Boyle (I refuse to call her Su-Bo) was a contestant on Britain's Got Talent not the X Factor, and the two shows are meant to be looking for something completely different. But no doubt Mary will get a recording contract anyway, which defeats the object of the show, when the best she deserves is probably singing on cruise ships...or in her shower!
But back to the actual finalists and the title has to be between Matt and Rebecca. Personally I don't like Rebecca. She is very one dimensional and sounds like her nose is constantly blocked. Plus she is far too similar to last years winner Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis, who won it three years ago. I want to see something different for a change.
Matt was easily the best in the original auditions but he has suffered in recent weeks with a bad throat and poor song choice. However he has a huge female following so will always pick up plenty of votes. Of the other finalists One Direction surely only appeal to 12 year old girls while Cher is just annoying. The media describe her as a rapper but she clearly is not. Missy Elliot is a rapper not Cher. She is just a bad singer who talks with a snarl! Plus as her only ambition is to become the new Chery Cole she clearly does not deserve to win anything let alone the X Factor!
Talking of the judges how can anyone actually take their comments seriously? Danni?? A singer?? Don't make me laugh. Kylie, yes but not Danni. And as for the aforementioned Cole? Didn't she mime on the X Factor the other week?? Then she didn't want to vote off one of her acts...is that not what she paid an awful lot of money to do?? No credibility at all. And don't even get me started on the 'rows' between Louis and Simon...what a joke that is. No wonder the show has become a parody of itself...
But for family entertainment on a Saturday and Sunday night you have to say it is genius. Like or or hate it, everyone has an opinion on it and no doubt the final will be watched by millions. Yes, enjoy it but don't kid yourself it is a talent show or that you have any say over who wins. The only thing you can be sure of is that the real winners will be Simon Cowell and his cronies...

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