The X Factor 2010

[Chloe O'brien]

There is a double elimination this week so high hopes Katie Weasel goes out

Yeah and Mini Me Cher-L

[lizann]

Yeah and Mini Me Cher-L

Yes Cher and Katie in the bottom would be nice

[Chloe O'brien]

Simon is furious about the claims that the show is fied. Well maybe he should have done something about it on Sunday night instead of waiting 4 days to have his say. In previous years he has been the first to air his views about acts like Chico and Jedward surviving each week against better acts. This year should be no different. Treyc should never have been in the bottom two. It should have been between Katie, Cher and Mary. Then the weekest singer should have went home. Anyway enough moaning about Cole and Cowell. Anyone have any idea what the gorgeous Matt is singing to us loved up females this week.

[Perdita]

I can't help feeling that the show might not be fixed as such but certainly staged by the producers to make it entertaining viewing. If the voting and eliminations would all go as they should, the show might not attract the viewing figures and certainly not the publicity this alleged controversy is creating. Money in the bank for Mr Cowell, as far as I am concerned.

[lizann]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...decorator.html

Each year, the X Factor has its pantomime stereotypes.

There is the overconfident baddie who everyone loves to hate (Katie), there is the ridiculous novelty act (Wagner) and then there is the everyman hero plucked from obscurity who will almost inevitably go on to win.
According to The X Factor spin, the show’s *favourite, Matt Cardle — who this week was the first contestant to win a standing ovation from all the judges — is that everyman.

A modest painter and decorator who just happens to have an extraordinary talent.
Except everything on The X Factor is not as it seems. Far from being the archetypal down-on-his-luck Essex lad, Matt attended a £15,000-a-year boarding school, has been on the brink of fame for years and had even released an album just weeks before he hit our screens.
So it turns out Matt is every bit as fame-*hungry as his much maligned rivals Katie and Cher.
‘All he has ever cared about is the music,’ Matt’s father David told me this week.

‘It can cost £150 for an hour in a recording studio so he did everything he could to fund it: painting and decorating, waiting on tables, you name it. At the end of a hard day at work, it would always be back to the music.

‘He has knocked on so many doors handing out his discs. We’ve used every contact we could to try to get success.’


No wonder many of Matt’s friends are surprised at his portrayal on the show. Chris Heap, manager of the Bull Hotel in Halstead, where Matt waited on tables, says: ‘Matt’s not really a painter and decorator, he just did that to support his music. Matt comes from a nice, middle-class family.’
In fact, Matt comes from a very nice, very middle-class family. The singer, 27, grew up in a £500,000, four-bedroom detached redbrick home in the village of Little Maplestead in Essex.
His parents own a *logistics *consultancy firm called Frazer-Nash Associates, but his father says music is in the genes. ‘I was a chorister for 12 years while my father was a gifted *amateur singer,’ says David, 60.
Matt’s mother Jennifer says he was humming in his pram at four months. Aged two, he survived kidney cancer, had *chemotherapy and had a kidney removed — no wonder the *Cardles were happy to encourage their son’s love of music with piano, guitar and singing lessons.
Aged 11, the family’s world was *further rocked when Jennifer’s best friend Sharon died. Matt’s parents refuse to give her surname, but they became a surrogate *family to *Sharon’s four sons.
Matt’s emotional rendition of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face on Saturday night was dedicated to *Sharon — he sang it at her funeral and at the *wedding of his ‘adopted’ brother Julian. He also sang it at the X Factor bootcamp before Simon Cowell stopped him halfway. ‘Simon Cowell is very canny and it’s my theory he stopped Matt *singing it at *bootcamp so he could sing it on the live show,’ David says.
‘It is a song which has so much meaning to all of us and when Matt first told me about singing it at bootcamp, we were both in tears.’
At the £15,000-a-year private boarding school Stoke *College, in Suffolk, Matt was *popular and good at sport. He was *suspended aged 11 for sneaking an *imitation gun into school. His *furious mother begged police to give him a stern warning.
At school he was mentored by music teacher Adrian Marple, who says he saw something special in the boy.
‘There was one school concert where he performed Jailhouse Rock and it was one of those moments where you sit up and realise something special has *happened,’ says Adrian.
‘He had a natural talent for performing, a real magnetism, and whenever he appeared on stage you could see *everyone sitting up in their chairs.’

When Matt left school at 16, Adrian recommended he attended the £500-a-week summer drama college Lights Music Action! where, with three *others, he formed a group called *Darwyn. Matt was the main *songwriter of the group which lasted for two years. From there he joined *alternative rock group Seven *Summers. At the start of the year they released an *internet album.
So it came as a surprise to them that Matt chose to go down the X Factor route. After his first *appearance on the show, the band tweeted: ‘Well, it’s been an interesting few days in the Seven Summers camp.’ (Their album has since *rocketed up the Amazon charts.)
They were not the only ones dumped; Matt split with Lauren *Cutmore, his girlfriend of four years, saying X *Factor bosses thought it would be better if he was single.
Adrian, who will be supporting Matt backstage on Saturday, says of X *Factor: ‘It’s very formulaic and I would not have thought he would be into that sort of stuff.’
But it appears the lure of instant fame may have appealed to Matt. *After all, he has gone from living at home to living the dream in the X *Factor’s Mill Hill house.
‘People say fame is going to change him, but we know it won’t,’ his father laughs. ‘Recently me and Matt’s mother were on holiday in Spain when we got a call from Matt asking us to put £100 in his bank account because he did not have enough money to pay his phone bill.’
He won’t need those handouts for long as, win or lose, he is liable to earn a small fortune. For starters, he’ll get £100,000 for the X Factor tour.
But what about the future? There are signs Matt may already be *worrying about his credibility. Earlier this week, he was quoted in Heat magazine as saying: ‘I know what this show is — it’s a *******ing TV show, like Big Brother. It’s not like I’m James Blunt and have just released an *amazing album.’
His father says: ‘There is so much more to Matt than we have seen yet.’
But it is unlikely we will be allowed to see the ‘real’ Matt. His favoured indie music has already been replaced by ballads and his beloved cap and checked shirt swapped for Simon Cowell’s shirt and tie uniform.
Having found the fame he craved, Matt may find X Factor success can be a double-edged sword. If he does win, as the bookies are predicting, the serious artist may find himself as just another one of Simon *Cowell’s puppets.

[tammyy2j]

There is a double elimination this week so high hopes Katie Weasel goes out

I love if all Cheryl's acts were in the bottom 3 even though I know Rebecca is talented she is quite Leona boring on stage imo and it would pi$$ off Cheryl

[megan999]

[QUOTE=Chloe O'brien;733389 This idea of having a fifth judge is a waste of time as Mr Cowell and Ms Cole would get a way round in their favour.[/QUOTE]Simon is only doing it because he's desparate to claw back some sort of credibility from this X Factor shambles. It won't make me like the programme any more, or make me believe that him and his producers are telling the truth. I will go through the motions of watching the rest of this year's X Factor, but any more silly business and I won't be watching next year's programme.

[tammyy2j]

Mary Byrne's daughter has revealed that Westlife have offered to fly her over to see her mother perform on this weekend's X Factor.

The 'Safe' group made the offer when they met Debbie at the Pride of Britain awards this week, The Mirror reports.

However, the 25-year-old revealed that she will have to conquer her fear of flying in order to attend the show in London.

"I'm petrified," she said. "But the Westlife boys said I could jump on their plane.

"Mum needs all the support she can get."

Her attendance comes after Mary struggled with her emotions during last week's performance and admitted that she missed her daughter.

Debbie added: "Mum had a tough time last week, but this week she's rested and is raring to go."

[tammyy2j]

Media experts have claimed that the The X Factor final is rapidly becoming the Superbowl of British TV, with advertisers queuing up to pay more than £200,000 for a spot during the live event in early December.

According to The Financial Times, media buyers believe that the publicity surrounding contestants on the show, along with the final's proximity to Christmas, make it a magnet for advertisers.

An unnamed ITV executive estimated that a 30-second slot during the two live shows next month could go for up 10% more than last year, when they sold for around £200,000.

Phil Hall, head of television at media agency Mediacom, said that final is now the closest thing that the UK has to America's highly lucrative Superbowl.

Referring to the two-hour shows on December 11 and 12, he said: "In terms of money, these will be ITV's most profitable four hours in the course of the year.

"Advertisers will put specific types of copy that's relevant in order to get in there. It is the closest thing we've got to the Superbowl."

Also speaking to the newspaper, a media buyer source said: "The World Cup will actually get you a slightly bigger audience, but in terms of families all sitting around together glued to TV - the advertiser's dream - The X Factor is probably better. And unlike the World Cup, it happens every year."

Rupert Howell, ITV's serving commercial director during last year's X Factor final, expressed his belief that the talent show will remain fresh for years to come.

"All non-sports events have a shelf life, but don't underestimate the genius of [show creator] Simon Cowell in keeping it new and different and interesting," he said.

The X Factor is expected to help ITV enjoy a successful festive season, with ad revenue predicted to be up 10% year-on-year. However, the early months of 2011 could prove a much tougher prospect for the broadcaster.

Last week, ITV called on the government to remove current advertising restrictions on flagship channel ITV1 so that the broadcaster can escape a "ratings rat race".

[megan999]

Sharing a clinch with stylist Grace Woodward, it is bound to infuriate X Factor boss Simon Cowell who banned singers from having relationships while in the house.

But it seems Matt cannot hide his feelings for stylist Grace Woodward, and the pair have embarked on a secret romance.

The pair have been spotted smooching and kissing backstage by production staff. She has dubbed him "Matt Cuddles" and it's easy to see why from this shot. But the news has left his ex Lauren Cutmore, 24, crushed after friends said she was convinced they would be reunited at the end of the series.

One production insider said: "Matt is smitten. He tried to hide his feelings for a long time but he just feels so strongly about Grace.

"Anyone who met her would see why.

She is stunning, not only on the outside but inside too. Simon warned the contestants about striking up relationships with fellow singers, he kind of figured it meant his staff too.

"He wants the best for all the contestants and for there to be no distractions.

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"It's funny as Matt doesn't need much styling compared to the younger singers, but that hasn't stopped him spending more and more time with Grace.

"They have become very close and he finds it easy to relax around her. They constantly have their arms around each other.

"Its not like they can go out for dates but they have been caught cuddling and have shared a kiss or three. They are both single so they don't see any harm in this."

Insiders say 27-year-old Matt has become "obsessed" with head stylist Grace, 33, and is spending more and more time with her at the studio.

But Lauren was said to be "heartbroken" at the development.

She claimed two weeks ago they had "rekindled their romance" and would get back together once he left the competition.

One friend said last night: "She feels hurt and is gutted that their chances of getting back together seem over." Matt is said to have only dumped Lauren so he would be single for the live stages. Grace told a fellow stylist she has "enjoyed making him sexier" after getting him to ditch his checked shirts. And she tweeted: "Watch for Matt, we love a soft to touch man."

An X Factor spokesman said: "Matt is fond of Grace but I think they are just very good friends."

source: The Mirror