The X-Factor 2010 - The final straight

BY JASON WRIGHT

A RECORD number of people applied to change their lives and now after months of competitive action, four acts were left standing.  Facing what is certainly the biggest weekend of their lives, only one out of Cher Lloyd, Matt Cardle, One Direction or Rebecca Ferguson could win the final.

For the final weekend, the show’s set changed attire with the familiar blue backgrounds replaced with a more warming gold, making it feel a bit like the classic gameshow Going for Gold.  All four judges were jazzed up for the occasion, three in the ambitions of mentoring the winning act…and the luckless Louis Walsh, once again a spectator for the finale.

FIRST: Matt began proceedings and was solid as ever

After the final kicked off with a last group performance of ‘What a Feeling’ by all 16 finalists, the competition proper got underway.  Again, each act would perform twice and in the first round, they performed a new song instead a previous one.  First up was the favourite with the bookies, Matt performing ‘Here with me’.  Once again, Matt had been struggling with the after effects of laryngitis from previous, so once again his vocal range was limited but still, as with any other performance, he gave it his all.  Not everything went smoothly however back in his hometown fanbase of Colchester.  Fresh from her success down under, Stacey Solomon was given responsibility to give a report but a technical glitch meant she was unable to do so and left viewers with just pictures of his cheering fans.  The great uses of today’s modern technology!

STAR: Rebecca will go onto better things

Next to perform was Rebecca, her soulful voice has made her a standout act in the competition and she was certainly given her just reward with a place in the final.  Her first performance of the night was ‘Like a Star’.  It seemed the pressure had got to her just a little bit, but still it was very captivating from start to finish.  No such problems with the production team in Rebecca’s home of Liverpool as Coleen Rooney was assigned to join Rebecca’s supporters in a packed arena.

BREAKTHROUGH: One Direction kept their cool

The last group standing was One Direction, who perhaps went into the final with the fans advantage. The hysteria built up in their performances perhaps reminds everyone of the original Take That in the 90s.  They certainly kept cool under pressure performing ‘Your Song’, once again proving the fact that this could be a breakthrough year at least for the groups’ category.  Their popularity was proved by the support given in member Louis’ hometown of Doncaster.  Michelle Keegan, best known for her portrayal of Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street, was unlucky to have been given the role as host of the gathering there as when came to giving a report, she was caught up right in the middle of an bottleneck of fans, which seemed to look more dangerous than the tram disaster that’s currently gripping Weatherfield!

Three acts down, just one to go. It was time for Cher and despite making the end, the teen had now certainly hit a new low.  Going into the show with literally no support anymore and having been bombarded with several threats that she would be killed if she showed up on Saturday.  Fortunately, this didn’t materialise and she saved the best until last. ‘Get Ur Freak On’ was her first number, doing what she did best and as far the judges’ comments suggested, she had surprisingly taken round one.  Of course, Cher’s faithful in Malvern had certainly not given up on her, and showed up at a fan park in droves, making it another difficult job for the outside report, which was the case for BBC Radio 1’s Scott Mills.

UNIQUE: Cher had fun with Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas

The second round was the most looked forward to as it was the eagerly anticipated duets round.  First again was Matt performing ‘Unfaithful’ with Rihanna, it looked so hot and steamy with plenty of chemistry, and that was just the ring of fire.  Next came Rebecca with ‘Beautiful’ alongside Christina Aguilera, this was at a slow and calm paced, just as the original version was.  Next came One Direction singing ‘She’s The One’ with now regular guest Robbie Williams, it all came together, voice and performance style.  Finally Cher did a mix of ‘Where Is The Love?’ and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ with Black Eyed Peas front man Will.I.Am, perhaps the most stand out of the four because of its upbeat and unique adaption of doing two songs together.

Following additional performances from both Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, the voting lines were frozen and the first results for final weekend were delivered.  Finally, the judges had lost their power and the public were now in control.  Their votes decided that Rebecca, One Direction and Matt would be back to perform in the next phase of the final on Sunday.  A right result as they had been the three front runners throughout most of this series.

So that meant Cher, despite the heroics of the night, was finally gone.  Considering her desire to win, you would have thought she might have been a broken wreck following the announcement of her exit but she surprised everyone by being gracious and accepting the defeat.  There is no doubt she will get a contract and sell thousands of singles and albums, as if Simon Cowell doesn’t offer her a deal, it’s almost likely that Cheryl Cole will snap her up.

STANDING: The final three get set for the final round

The first half had come to an explosive conclusion and now just Matt, Rebecca and One Direction were left the running to be crowned X Factor winner 2010 and earn that life changing recording contract. But who will it be?

TO BE CONTINUED…

The X-Factor 2010 - The semi-final showdown

BY JASON WRIGHT

Just five acts were now left in the running for X-Factor glory, supermarket worker Mary Byrne, teenager Cher Lloyd, single mother Rebecca Ferguson, boyband One Direction and DIY handyman Matt Cardle.  Now all five acts were in the crucial semi-final and by the end of last weekend, four would be in this year’s grand final and one would be heading home with their dreams destroyed.

UPBEAT: Rebecca Ferguson wowed the judges

As with past semi-finals, two songs were required from each act to get through.  First each act performed a ‘Club Classic’, which basically meant a popular song at nightclubs/discos and a song handpicked by them as one they believe would get them into the final.  First to go was Rebecca singing ‘Show Me Love’.  Despite having wowed previously, something she has lacked before is performing an upbeat song, finally this was her chance and she didn’t disappoint. Then as expected, she went back to her ballad roots for the second song, ‘Amazing Grace’ was so captivating and heartfelt, many have said this would be a two-way fight for the win but don’t count her out yet.

UNDERWHELMING: Mary didn't do enough to stay in

Next up was Mary, first with ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ which again seemed to be underwhelming though upbeat songs are not her thing.  Her second performance again returned to her specialist area with ‘The Way We Were’, a poignant choice as it was her late mother’s favourite song and so understandably made her very emotional.  Nevertheless, her performances were solid if unspectacular and still left her with every chance of reaching the final.

BELOW-PAR: But Matt did enough to make the final

In the week’s build-up, Matt’s participation had been in severe doubt, suffering from severe laryngitis and then tonsillitis.  Yet although having hardly had any rehearsal time, just hours before the live show, he took the brave decision to sing.  His first song ‘You Got the Love’ was certainly not his best for the well-documented reasons but still giving the best he could.  The same could be said for his second performance, ‘She’s Always a Woman.’  Simon Cowell didn’t agree, stating it was his worst performance. Nevertheless, his huge fanbase and previous form should still carry him through.

CONFIDENT: Cher stuck to her usual routine

Matt may have been under huge pressure, but Cher was feeling it even more.  Although her performances had been strong of late, over the last few weeks, she had alienated the public for some strange reason and was going into the semi perhaps as the clear-cut favourite to get the axe.  In this situation, there was only one thing to do; she had call upon her specialist route of rapping.  Both of her performance of ‘Nothin’ on You’ and ‘Love the Way You Lie’ easily showed examples of the format, which has been so much criticised but something she had to do to stay in.  Dannii Minogue thought she had to perform a ballad but at the end of the day it was Cher’s choice and now her fate was with the public.

GAMBLE: One Direction took risks that paid off

One Direction had also been heavily affected.  Their mentor Simon had been struck down with man flu throughout the week so Cheryl Cole kindly stepped in to oversee their rehearsals. Also, Zain had missed many rehearsals, as he was back in Bradford, following the tragic death of his grandfather.  The group’s first performance was perhaps the best of round one, taking a huge risk performing Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl In The World’ which had only been a couple of weeks old but it totally worked.  Then they followed it up with ‘Chasing Cars’ which again, was totally spot-on.

Continuing the trend of series firsts, another two were made in the Sunday results show. Firstly, the first ever four-way X Factor final and secondly, the first semi-final sing-off.  The latter came at the surprise to the public as this had been unannounced until then.  However ITV had later said, it was planned weeks ahead, they just clumsily didn’t re-write the script.

Firstly, as before, the three acts with the most votes went through. They were One Direction, keeping Simon in the competition, Rebecca, ensuring the already-known fact that Cheryl would make the final again and Matt, sealing a double whammy of delight for Dannii, as just 24 hours earlier, her former protégé, Stacey Solomon won this year’s series of I’m A Celebrity.

SHOWDOWN: Cher and Mary await their fate

That left Cher and Mary, the two acts most at risk of leaving in the sing-off.  Both of them literally gave the performance of their lives and it left the judges with a difficult decision.  Louis Walsh went first to vote and as expected, chose to keep his last act Mary.  Dannii opted to send Cher through, along with mentor Cheryl which left Simon having to decide who got the last place in the final.  After several minutes of mulling whether to send Cher to the final or revert the decision back to the public vote, he save Cher, no surprise as he had continually backed her throughout.

This left the public up in arms, as they obviously wanted Mary to go through and it meant the Louis was out of the competition before the final YET AGAIN, making it now just one appearance in the past five finals for him, a sobering statistic.  Personally, it doesn’t feel right to have a semi-final sing-off but that was the decision after all.  What they need to do next time is give the public a prior warning of this rather than just leave this to minutes before it was going to take place.

STANDING: The final four, who are you backing?

But nevertheless, it is a still a strong line-up for this weekend’s big finale.  Cher Lloyd, Matt Cardle, One Direction and Rebecca Ferguson, and by late Sunday night, one of them will have won The X-Factor 2010 and become the nation’s next big music sensation.

The final starts this Saturday at 7pm on ITV1 and ITV1 HD, with a two-part report to follow next week. Britain, Who Are You Backing?

The X-Factor 2010 - The pressure starts to show

BY JASON WRIGHT

If we have learnt something so far in this series, it is that all the domination is about controversy and shock.  The X-Factor continues to deliver quality TV and here is a look at the past fortnight’s events.

Week 7 (20-21 November)

SCREAMING: Matt would have got the girls attention!

Half of the field had now been decimated and eight were left standing.  For week seven, the acts showed the spirit of the sixties by performing songs from the legendary band that is The Beatles.  Two Boys were now left and they started off with Matt Cardle singing ‘Come Together’.  Of course, the song was made famous last year by Olly Murs ripping nearly half his shirt off during it.  Matt closely attempted the same feat by wearing nothing but a vest.  As for the performance, it was a mixed bag, sometimes good, other times a bit off-key.  Meanwhile, following the woes of Elton John week, Paije Richardson bounced back with a brilliant rendition of ‘Let It Be’ and Simon Cowell quickly took back his words of not having any chance of winning.

With four weeks to go, it’s remarkable and somewhat lucky that the Girls category still has three of the four remaining.  Cher Lloyd once again built up a debatable issue with her performance of ‘Imagine’. While it was certainly nice to give something that only showed her singing, a few people questioned the song choice because this was just a John Lennon track, but if Lennon was part of the Beatles then surely it is allowed.  Then Simon criticised Cheryl Cole for having Cher perform on top of a makeshift staircase and it got so heated that both had to be called to attention by Dermot O’Leary not once, not twice but three times! At times, you must wonder, give it a rest!

NEW: Katie changed her look, and it bought good fortune

As for the other two girls, Rebecca Ferguson was under pressure.  Being from Liverpool, she needed to give the iconic band pride but somehow her performance of ‘Yesterday’ just didn’t click.  Maybe it was little too much for her cope with.  Finally, Katie Waissel must be the luckiest girl on earth.  Despite four sing-off performances, she was still hanging around.  Now she had finally undergone a much needed change, new attitude and a new haircut, her rendition of ‘Help!’ was made her own. Could it be the start of a remarkable comeback?

As for Simon’s one remaining act, One Direction, the momentum of last week’s show-stopping was still fresh in their minds and certainly carried forward into this week’s performance of ‘All You Need Is Love’.  It wasn’t as good as the previous week but still, the value of the performance was priced at sensational.

PREDICTABLE: Wagner was out of tune, AGAIN!

Lastly, there was no sign of any change in pattern of performance for the Overs…of course!  Over the last few weeks, Mary Byrne had been underwhelming but this time around, she provided a great performance of ‘Something’ and that proved she shouldn’t be written off just yet.  If a medley of two wasn’t bad enough for Wagner, a medley of three was even worse!  ‘Get Back’, ‘Hippy Hippy Shake’ and ‘Hey Jude’ were not sung in tune at all but still another seemingly crowd-pleasing attempt.  There are some things in life money can’t buy…and for Wagner, there isn’t MasterCard!

TIME: Dermot passes the Cher vs Paije battle to the judges

For the first time since week three, the sing-off threw together two new faces to the experience, Paije and Cher and it was a sing-off of two halves.  The first half, performance-wise, seemed to put Paije in front as his was note-perfect whilst Cher, at times, looked to be crumbling under pressure, very nearly in floods of tears.  However, the intensity and emotion in Cher’s performance just couldn’t be overlooked, and that probably swayed it with the judges.  Simon put his obvious faith in Cher as he has been since the beginning and with both Cheryl and Dannii again protecting their acts from leaving; Louis was left in the dreaded position yet again.  His head told him to save Paije, his heart told him to save Cher, whilst the audience told him to take it to deadlock.  In the end, he went for his heart and kept Cher in.  This is perhaps seen as the best choice since she had been the more consistent throughout but the audience just didn’t agree, and she was booed and jeered off the stage.

This reaction certainly stunned the teen singer even further to core, if being in the bottom two wasn’t that bad.  Cheryl now had just five days to bring her “special one” back into contention.  Would it happen or is she a dead girl walking in this contest?

Week 8 (27-28 November)

Loud, metal and flames could only mean one thing, it was Rock night!  Now each act had to perform twice to make it through to the all important semi-final.

STANDING: Mary is Ireland and Louis remaining hope

The Overs began and the unusual position of Wagner being first when normally being towards the end.  For once, he gave a performance of credibility with Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, once being note-perfect before ‘Addicted to Love’ saw him return to normal.  If he took a pill to change his style, the effects wore off very quickly!  Meanwhile, Mary had somewhat of a night which many people hardly mentioned her performances of ‘All I Want Is You’ and ‘Brass in Pocket’.  Both were not captivating but still worthy of positive feedback from the judges.

BEAUTIFUL: One Direction continue to look the part

One Direction once again ended up right in the thick of it.  Simon gave them two rather strange choices, yet still both performances ended up being performed sensationally by the group.  ‘Summer of ‘69’ again showed the full vocal range but it was their second song, ‘You are so Beautiful’ that brought the debate.  The song’s original singer, Joe Cocker, was in fact not a ballad person as this song seems to suggest but in fact a rock singer, according to Simon.  Louis clearly thinks it was the former and hence after eight weeks…we rejoice in the return of ‘Louis Walsh’s Official X Factor Rule Book’. It won’t be long until he’ll get it out into the shops!

PRESSURE: Can Rebecca take the heat?

The Girls were once again up to their usual tricks.  After receiving a harsh reaction from surviving the sing-off last week, it left Cher feeling vulnerable and scared of going home next.  Her two performances of ‘Girlfriend’ and ‘Walk This Way’ again seemed to show more singing and less rapping, definitely a marked improvement on previous but still has a long way to go before the public’s faith in her is truly restored…and not long left to do it in.  Rebecca went the same way as Mary in going for more of the ballad-rock instead of the up-tempo rock.  Still her versions of ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ were both top-class and looking certain of at least making the final.  If Cher doesn’t know how to cope with negativity, just talk to Katie, she can deal with it well.  She gave her best performance to date with Kings Of Leon’s ‘Sex On Fire’ really being made to set on fire and whilst ‘Everybody Hurts’ didn’t quite match the standard, this was once again a solid week for the constantly elimination-threatened girl.

When a judge has one act left, it can make them feel under pressure of having to deliver.  It must have been a distinct feeling of déjà vu for Dannii; last year when her last act standing Stacey Solomon was perhaps on the verge just a week after “you know what so I won’t mention it again for legal reasons”, she catapulted up to the next level and deserved to reach the final.  Now fast forward back to 2010 and with Stacey perhaps all set to win I’m A Celebrity this weekend, Dannii’s last act standing, Matt had to at least achieve the similar goal of getting to the finale.  The Essex decorator’s two songs, ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Nights In White Satin’ were once again effortless.  Like Simon with One Direction, Dannii should now have nothing to worry about in terms of elimination.

Seven acts still in and just two weeks to go until the final weekend meant there only one way to settle the exit dispute this week, a double elimination had to be held, which meant for the first time in X-Factor history, a sing-off was held on the contest’s eighth week.  Katie found herself in the bottom end of the vote for the fifth time but on this occasion, there was no way back, she came in last place and was out immediately.  Her luck having finally run dry, she was very gracious indeed, knowing it had to come to an end sometime.

FAREWELL: Wagner says goodbye to the X-Factor

For weeks now, an internet campaign has been in full swing getting everyone to back Wagner to win and it had a positive effect when the build-up to last week’s show had him installed a third favourite, odds slashed to 10-1 compared to the 150-1 given at the start of the contest last month.  However the support somewhat didn’t materialise this time and the manic Brazilian was forced to sing-off against Mary.  To ease tension, Louis, who mentored the pair voted first and put his faith in Mary and when Dannii and Cheryl agreed, the crowd went berserk, Wagner was gone.  Simon Cowell then declared a victory for the show; its credibility had been saved from total destruction.  He did though praise Wagner for his efforts, being the honourable gentleman he sometimes is.

So just five are now left in the running. Cher, Mary, Matt, One Direction and Rebecca will this Saturday and Sunday be fighting like they never fought before in aiming to secure a place in what has now become one of the television’s biggest highlights of the year…The X-Factor Final!

But who will make it and who will fall at the final hurdle? Semi-final weekend kicks off at 7:40pm this Saturday on ITV1 and ITV1 HD and a full report will follow next week.

The X-Factor 2010 - Competition levels go up and the show descends into chaos

BY JASON WRIGHT

Week 4 (30-31 October)

MAGIC: A new side to Mary worked a Halloween treat

HALLOWEEN weekend meant the theme was subtly songs that were at the least loosely related to the occasion.  The Over’s began the action with Mary Byrne performing the Take That classic ‘Could It Be Magic?’ it was certainly magic, much different to what she had performed before and held no fear to the challenge.  The least could be said for Wagner as he killed two classic songs, making a mockery of the X Factor signature tune ‘O Fortuna’ followed by his rendition of ‘Bat Out Of Hell’, was performed a language that has perhaps never existed. Simon Cowell asked Louis Walsh if he had been drinking, which was strenuously denied but to be honest that could have been planned over ten shots of whiskey!

AWFUL: Aiden's rendition of 'Thriller' wasn't a thriller!

The three Boys come next and the ghosts seemed to haunt Aiden Grimshaw as his version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was less fun than watching paint dry!  He wanted to make it his own but that completely backfired.  Matt Cardle also had a difficult night with ‘Bleeding Love’. He sang it well but it was totally out of his depth.  Paije Richardson did manage to salvage some pride on what was a terrible week for the category as his performance of ‘Back to Black’ won some praise from the judging panel despite not really being stand-out again.

Both of the Groups had survived the previous week and were on top form again.  Belle Amie truly arrived with ‘Venus’ and Louis seemed to put to bed the criticism he gave the previous week.  Meanwhile One Direction again impressed singing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and they are proving totally the decision by Simon to have them formed from solo singers into a group.

TOP CLASS: Cher answered her critics in stunning fashion

All four Girls were still left in the running.  Rebecca Ferguson was at the top of her game again with ‘Wicked Heart’ and even though it hadn’t matched the material shown previously, it was still well on par with the front-runners.  Treyc Cohen bounced back from the sing-off last week with an explosive performance of ‘Relight My Fire’ though it did draw criticism for not totally being her style of song.  Katie Waissel was another act who seemed to have finally arrived with a lavish performance of ‘Bewitched’ though it was kind of stolen by showing off too much make-up, perhaps enough to make someone go blind!  After three weeks of rapping, Cher Lloyd was surely on the brink of elimination, her support having crumbled rapidly during the build-up.  Finally Cheryl Cole listened to the abuse and gave Cher a ballad to perform.  Her performance of ‘Stay’ was not only sung, it was sung from the heart.  Simon labelled it as “the performance of the series”, Cher finally proving what she could do.

Belle Amie and Katie were forced into the bottom two on Sunday’s results, both for the second time.  After Simon and Cheryl kept their acts in the running, Dannii Minogue chose to send home Belle Amie, leaving Louis with a difficult decision.  He liked both acts and simply couldn’t decide so opted to send it back to the public vote.

TEARS: Belle Amie depart

For once, the deadlock was brought with a delighted reaction from the audience but it would prove to be misery for Simon as Belle Amie were sent packing with the fewest votes.  Once again, the ‘Girlband Curse’ had struck and so disappointing on this occasion as the girls had so much more to give. Four weeks down and Simon was now on his last life.

Week 5 (6-7 November)

The show went Stateside for the fifth week, the halfway point of the contest as the ten remaining acts performed popular songs from US artists.  The Girls began the show with Cher.  After the stunner of Halloween week, it was back to basics from her with ‘Empire State of Mind’.  It went down very disappointingly with the judges, and put her position at risk again.  Katie came next with ‘Don’t Speak’, again, which was very strong but weaker than the previous few performances.  Rebecca received plenty of praise again for a brilliant take of ‘Make You Feel My Love’ and after a dodgy couple of weeks, Treyc seemingly returned to form with the Aerosmith classic ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’.

DEBATE: Wagner's performances are the main gossip

It was another predictably mixed night for the two remaining Over’s.  Mary had struggled with her song all week and although her performance of ‘There You’ll Be’ was solid, it obviously wasn’t as good as previous.  The late Elvis Presley was the next world famous icon to be destroyed by Wagner, but to give credit, his medley of ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and ‘The Wonder Of You’ was certainly by far, his best outing to date.

BREATHLESS: Matt was superb

The Boys also returned to form after the horrors of Halloween.  Aiden’s performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ was again a little subdued but this perhaps is what should be expected from him now, it’s his style after all.  Paije delivered his best performance of the competition.  His version of ‘I’m A Believer’ saw mentor Dannii declare him to have arrived in the show.  However it was Matt who well and truly stole the show with ‘The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face’.  Breathless is perhaps the only word to describe it and rightfully earned the first standing ovation of the series.

FORM: One Direction are a force

Louis was undoubtedly taking the Mickey out of Simon for having just one act left but the maestro was obviously not taking it seriously.  After all, his one remaining act, One Direction is a bookies favourite and proved it with an up-tempo performance of ‘Kids in America’.  If they keep it up, Simon shouldn’t have anything to worry about for a couple of weeks.

After having kept all four girls in the running for four weeks, Cheryl was finally destined to lose an act this week but for the first time, both of the acts in the final showdown were hers, Katie and Treyc.  It would descend into utter farce as first Katie ‘accidentally’ said “sod it” during her performance and then the show producers messed up totally by doing the order of voting by the judges wrong.  Simon first sent home Treyc and then Cheryl was told to go next.  She was taken aback by having to decide early, as normally if two acts of the same mentor are in this situation, that judge is saved until last.  As a result, Cheryl “claimed” she was not ready to decide and asked if she could wait until last.  The show’s host, Dermot O’Leary was told through by his earpiece, that he had to give it as a refusal to vote.

DIGNIFIED: Treyc put a brave face on her elimination

Treyc’s fate was sealed as she only received the support of Dannii with Louis’ casting vote going to save Katie.  Some people put the blame on Dermot for this but that shouldn’t be the case.  It was the producers who got it all wrong, but Cheryl doesn’t get away with it scot-free.  What she did was a complete and utter disgrace.  If she was last to vote, then forcing a deadlock decision would certainly be acceptable but in this situation it is no-no!  The tabloids called for Cheryl to be sacked and rightfully so.  The decisions she has made so far this series have been extremely shocking and this latest controversy has surely put her future on the programme under severe threat.

Week 6 (13-14 November)

TESTING: Paije produces a mundane performance

Quickly putting the controversy of last week to one side, the remaining nine acts celebrated the music of Elton John last Saturday.  First up were the Boys and it started off with Paije singing ‘Crocodile Rock.’  It felt like a drunken karaoke pub performance and it wasn’t a hit with the judges.  Aiden followed up with ‘Rocketman’, and again it was another solid if unspectacular performance from him.  Following the praise of last week, Matt was under huge pressure to deliver strongly again and although his version of ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ wasn’t as good as last week, it still kept him as the competition favourite.

The Over’s once again were in their predictable pattern.  Mary still looked below-par with her rendition of ‘Can You Feel the Love tonight.’  Meanwhile Wagner was getting worse week-by-week. If wrecking famous songs was his speciality, now he was after the films, firstly ‘I’m Still Standing’ wasn’t catching on, but it went out of proportion with ‘Circle of Life’, one of the best Disney songs of all time, totally ruined.  Maybe he does actually have a future…he could be the one to save the troubled Pontins resorts!

SURVIVOR: Katie is hanging on, by the skin of her teeth

No act had ever survived three sing-offs before but Katie was still holding on.  She kicked off the Girls performances with ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’, once again provided a lacklustre performance.  Getting lost amongst the dancers didn’t help and Louis didn’t find this performance captivating.  Simon’s response went as far as threatening to kick Louis off the show!  Cher finally delivered a good performance of her speciality, her version of ‘Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word’, did again have an element of rapping but not as much as previous renditions.  Rebecca continued to be the standout of the category with a strong performance of ‘Candle in the Wind’. It was again very consistent and captivating from the single mother.

One Direction meanwhile was the standout of the night with ‘Something about the Way You Look Tonight’.  This is genuinely perhaps the first time a group could potentially be in a strong chance of winning.  Regardless, it would be a travesty if they at least didn’t make the final.

STUNNED: Dermot O'Leary embraces a shocked Aiden

It was a battle between Dannii and Cheryl’s acts in the sing-off this week.  Aiden’s rather inconsistency finally caught up with him and he was forced to perform again along with Katie for the FOURTH time.  Another strange voting order was used in which Simon went first instead of any the mentors with acts in this situation.  He voted to save Katie again and when both Dannii and Cheryl unanimously stood by their acts, it was all down to Louis again.  He saved Aiden, which was the right call, so it went back the public vote and the whole studio was left stunned when Aiden came bottom of the vote and was ousted. Aiden was left rightfully disappointed at the result and when he revealed a possible leak on Twitter that he was in the bottom three, and the public and press went insane again.

The battle to be the best may be closer than ever, but this year’s series seems to be overshadowed by controversy, judges bickering and confusion.  The question is has the shambles of the last two weeks marked something…could it be the beginning of the end for The X Factor?

We’ll have to wait and see, I’ll return at the end of week eight for a detailed report on the next two weeks to come.  Let’s hope we’ll be speaking more about praise for singing and less of the outrage.

The X-Factor 2010 - The Live Shows Begin With A Bang

BY JASON WRIGHT

NOW in its seventh series, the X-Factor promised that this year’s live finals would potentially be the best yet.  Whether it will do so obviously remains to be seen, but on the evidence of the first weekend, it made an explosive start.

There was talk of there being a new set again, mainly to cope with the move to high definition but surprisingly, the present set, having only itself been introduced last year, was re-used with some minor modifications for HD broadcast.  However, the real build-up was centred on “The Big Twist” and when the show went live, host Dermot O’Leary confirmed what everyone had expected.  Four new acts would join the competition as ‘wildcards’ into what would now become the final 16.

Simon Cowell chose to bring back male duo act Diva Fever, Dannii Minogue gave Paije Richardson a reprieve, Louis Walsh opted to throw a lifeline to Wagner, a sports teacher originally from Brazil with a surname that perhaps nobody can announce properly and Cheryl Cole selected Treyc Cohen.  Cole’s choice had been heavily criticised as on the previous week’s judges’ houses stage, she rejected popular Zimbabwe-born singer Gamu Nhengu.  It had been speculated that Nhengu would return as Cole’s wildcard choice, but this was scuppered when reports that her family’s visa to stay in Britain had expired and would not be renewed surfaced.

As with previous opening weeks, the finalists performed songs that got to number one in the UK chart.  Firstly the groups kicked off with F.Y.D. singing ‘Billionaire’ by Travie McCoy.  It wasn’t a good start, it looked way off-key and the vocals weren’t very strong.  Louis Walsh said they should be a dance act instead of a group and I would agree.  Next, Belle Amie didn’t really impress either with their take on ‘Airplanes’.  It sounded very drab and dull, though at least the girls did show good signs of chemistry, having been formed through being turned down as solo acts.

Diva Fever came out with an upbeat version of ‘Sunny’.  They are certainly not strong singers but are certainly very entertaining and would go far in this competition through this.  Finally, One Direction, also formed through boot camp, sang Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’.  It was a solid start but kind of playing it safe, they may need to adopt a better approach from next week if they want to stay in for long.  It’s really no secret that Simon might be the biggest loser on Week One with no real standout performances. He’ll be hoping things will improve.

Now onto the boys, Matt Cardle was the first of them to perform with ‘When Love Takes Over’ by David Guetta.  It was a song that really suited him and he will definitely be one to watch.  Next to go was Paije Richardson with ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song’.  He certainly has got very strong vocals and could well be the dark horse in the contest.

Italian songbird Nicolo Festa came next with Lady GaGa’s ‘Just Dance’.  It was horrible from start to finish, totally murdering a very classic song from these modern times, yet the judges’ gave him praise for it.  Last of all was Aiden Grimshaw with ‘Mad World.’  It was one of the best performances of the night but he has a bad habit of rarely looking straight at the judges’ or the audience, something he has to learn to control with if he wants to go all the way.  Regardless, this category is the one to beat after the first week. Round one without question goes to Dannii.

The overs come next, now raised to 28 years. John Adeleye was first to go with ‘One Sweet Day’.  He made a good fist of it but whether he can impress the public to go long into the competition is yet to tell.  Storm Lee came next with rock tune ‘We Built This City’.  Simon already hates him and I can really tell why.  He is a total nutcase that should be detained under Section One of the Mental Health Act!

The category’s leading lady, Mary Byrne followed.  Having come down with the flu just 72 hours before the live show, her version of ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’ by James Brown showed no obvious effect to her illness.  She totally made the song her own and will be a favourite with the judges and the voting public.  Finally, the wildcard pick Wagner sang ‘She Bangs’ by Ricky Martin. The Brazilian looks insane and sounds like Gordon Brown on helium. Simon rightfully described it as “the most bonkers thing I’ve have ever seen”.  It is clear that Mary is Louis’ only hope of a second win on X-Factor this year.

Attention was much focused on the girls’ category.  Cheryl was out on a mission to become the first judge to win for a third successive year.  Rebecca Ferguson was first out with ‘Teardrops’.  A solid if unspectacular start, but Rebecca can go some distance if given the right material.  Cher Lloyd was next and was the act under the most pressure.  Firstly, being the youngest of the sixteen acts at age 17 and secondly, there have been mass tabloid reports concerning that she would be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  Despite this, her performance of ‘Just Be Good To Me’ certainly put those concerns to bed and that she can cope under the pressure.  Cher does though have a long way to go and is so far only known for performing R&B songs.  Cheryl will quickly need to introduce her to perform other styles of songs if she intends to win, especially if the winners single will be a slow, emotional ballad again.

As with Cher, Katie Waissel had also got a fair share of criticism by the time of her performance.  Her version of the historic Queen anthem ‘We Are The Champions’ didn’t help as she sounded and looked awful, an act that will be under complete scrutiny from the viewers already.  Treyc Cohen closed the show with U2’s ‘One’ with perhaps the best performance of opening night, a shock for many given that she looked like not being in the line-up.  Like Paije, expect to see Treyc as a surprise favourite in the competition.  It’s a 50-50 start for Cheryl, her choices in songs for the girls could play a crucial role.

Fast forward 24 hours to Sunday night for the results show.  First, there were performances from rapper Usher, which was claimed to be a world exclusive performance, but in the end turned out to be performance of a single from several months ago.  Then in keeping with tradition with the past, reigning X Factor winner Joe McElderry returned to perform his new upbeat single ‘Ambitions’.  I think we need to wait for what happens to single and album in the charts before we can make our decision on how he will fare.  On first impressions, it’s a love or hate song. If you don’t hear often, you’ll be thinking “What on earth is this?” but if you listen to it more often, it will become addictive.

Then, it was onto the all important results.  With 16 acts left in the competition, two acts would leave on opening weekend.  Nicolo was first out after finishing bottom of the public vote. Considering the good comments he received for such a dire performance, he perhaps may have got through, so this in a way was a bit of a surprise. However, the way he reacted was disgraceful, “I feel like c**p” should not be said in front of about 15 million people watching when you should usually feel disappointed but gracious in defeat and he certainly wasn’t.

F.Y.D and Katie were the next two acts that received the lowest votes and went into the first Final Showdown of the series to win the judges’ support.  Like before, both acts performed a song that they had specially picked themselves to perform if they end up in this situation.  The boys sang Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ whilst Katie opted for ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ by The Beatles.  After both Simon and Cheryl expectantly backed their own acts, Dannii sent home F.Y.D. and Louis had the casting vote.  He resisted the rather strong temptation in his view to send it to deadlock and back to the public vote and voted to eliminate the boys.

Fans of the show were livid with Louis’ decision but they shouldn’t be.  It is rightfully suggested that Katie ended up in the sing-off because of the controversy surrounding her passage into the live finals and her performance on Saturday was a mess.  On Sunday, she sang her survival song as if her life depended on it and so deserved to be given a second chance.  She will have to raise her game though immediately if she plans to stay any longer.

So one week down, nine to go, and it’s still far too early to predict the clear cut favourite in this year’s contest.  I’ll be back at the end of Week three in a fortnight’s time to give a view on the next two shows to come, but for now I’ll leave you with a summary of the latest betting odds after Week 1.

Outright winner of The X Factor 2010 (as of 11 October, supplied by William Hill)

9-2 joint favourites: Aiden Grimshaw and Matt Cardle, 5-1: One Direction, 6-1: Rebecca Ferguson, 8-1: Cher Lloyd, 10-1: Mary Byrne, 20-1: Treyc Cohen, 33-1: Paije Richardson, 40-1: Katie Waissel, 66-1: Belle Amie, John Adeleye and Storm Lee, 100-1: Diva Fever, 150-1 outsider: Wagner

The X Factor continues Saturday at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITV1 HD.