X Factor 2007 - General Discussion

Hope clashed with Niki over housekeeping
Sunday, December 2 2007, 12:01 GMT

By Daniel Kilkelly


Girl band Hope clashed with their fellow X Factor finalist Niki Evans in rows over housekeeping this week.

The group, who were eliminated from the competition last night, found themselves caught up in arguments about the state of the mansion that the contestants share. The house is believed to be full of dirty dishes and saucepans, while the toilet is also in a poor state.

A source told The People: "That place is a house of horrors. You wouldn't expect the Sex Pistols' trailer to be like that. It's like a pigsty."

The situation caused tension when Niki lost her temper with Hope's Charlie Mole for using her cooking set. Charlie's bandmate Emily Biggs wound Niki up further by hiding her saucepans in the bathroom.

An X Factor spokesman said: "If they want to live in a dump it is up to them. We are aware that there has been tension."

'X Factor': Hope
Monday, December 3 2007, 15:08 GMT

By Nick Levine, Entertainment Reporter


The great survivors are gone. After three visits to the bottom two in the last four weeks, Hope finally bowed out of The X Factor on Saturday. Although Louis praised the group's "brilliant image", Simon insisted that their performance of '2 Become 1' "wasn't good enough", and the girls' rousing rendition of 'We Will Rock You' wasn't able to buy them another week. Had the constant fight to stay in the competition burned out their excitement, as Dannii suggested? Raquelle 'I Did The Splits At Boot Camp' Gracie and Phoebe 'Big Old Lungs' Brown gave us the lowdown.

How are you feeling today?

Raquelle: "We're cool. Obviously it's a big change for us - we've been living in the X Factor house for three months, so we're missing it now that we've left, but we're really looking forward to the future."

Was Saturday's result a shock to you?

R: "Not really. Of the five remaining acts, we were the only ones to have been in the bottom two, and we'd actually been there three times. We were kind of expecting it, to be honest. You know, one of our performances was strong, and the other was only OK, whereas the others all had two sensational performances."

Phoebe: "We all saw it coming, so we just tried to prepare ourselves and make the most of our last week, really."

Why do you think '2 Become 1' didn't turn out to be one of your best performances?

R: "I actually we think we did as good a job as we could have done with '2 Become 1' - it's a very difficult song to sing. It's a real pop ballad, so maybe it didn't come up trumps against something as powerful as 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart', which Niki sang."

After you performed it, Dannii said she felt you were "fighting rather than [showing] the excitement of being together which we saw in the beginning". How did you feel when she said that?

R: "She's absolutely right that we were fighting and that we're survivors, but I didn't think we'd lost our early excitement. We were all really excited to be on stage, but if she didn't feel that came across, well, we respect that."

It's been reported that the group fractured a little when Phoebe was asked to sing lead on 'Hurt' last week. Is there any truth to these rumours?

R: "Absolutely not! We've all been totally supportive of each other. When Phoebe was given the lead vocal on 'Hurt', we were pleased because she's the one who sounded best on that song. That's how we do it - whoever sounds best on a particular track gets to sing the solo. You know, we had to be there for Phoebe because she's only 16 and it was a lot of pressure for her to sing lead."

P: "For me, it was a lot of pressure, but all the girls were really supportive and I just did my best with it. It was really nerve-racking when I was standing there waiting to go onstage - I was shaking my little boots off! - but I tried to be as confident as I could."

Will Hope stay together in the long-term, do you think?

R: "We are definitely, definitely going to stay together. We've all come out of this competition with four new best friends... We're so strong now, because there's nobody else in the world except for us who knows what we've been through together."

P: "We're doing lots of gigs at the moment, and then we're going on the X Factor tour. After that we'll just have to see what happens. We're going to keep working at it, you know. We're definitely, definitely staying together."

How did you find Simon as a mentor?

R: "Simon's been a great mentor. He's a very busy man, but he's always been there to support us and lift us up when we've been feeling down. We'd see him every Friday, and we'd speak to him during the week if we were unhappy with our song choices. He'd just want to see the finished product really, and if he wasn't happy with it, he'd change it. That was fine with us - we always respected his opinion because he's a very successful man."

There's been a suggestion that Same Difference are Simon's favourite act this year. Did you ever pick up on that?

R: "Not at all. He gave us all equal treatment and helped us all equally. Same Difference are great - we wish them all the best for the rest of the competition."

What's the atmosphere like in the X Factor house as the final approaches?

R: "It's getting more and more tense every week because we're getting really close now. But we're five girls who stick together, and we had the top floor all to ourselves, so it was always a great laugh for us. We didn't sleep - we were up all night talking and messing around!"

P: "We want Rhydian to win now. He's so dedicated, he works really hard and he's always been such a sweetheart to us, so he's the one we're backing."

Is it true that Hope weren't quite as tidy in the kitchen as Niki would have liked?

R:"That's absolutely not true! We love Niki. She cooked a massive Christmas meal for us the other week, and we cleaned up afterwards. That's how it worked. You know, we didn't really eat much in the X Factor house except for soup. We'd go out for meals or get takeaway pizza, so how could we be messy?"

What have you learned from your time on The X Factor?

P: "I've learned that it's a hard, hard industry. I've also learned to be strong and not read everything that's in the papers, because it's better just to focus on what you're doing. Most of that kind of stuff turns out to be lies anyway."

Dannii determined to beat "catty" Louis
Sunday, December 2 2007, 11:27 GMT

By Daniel Kilkelly


Dannii Minogue has vowed to get revenge on her fellow X Factor judges by making sure that one of her acts wins the competition.

The Australian pop star has faced criticism from co-star Louis Walsh, who regularly questions her ability as a mentor. On last night's show, he went a step further and claimed that she had never had a hit record.

Meanwhile, there have been several reports of backstage tension between Dannii and Sharon Osbourne, and she has finally admitted that they do not get along.

"It would be so great to win," Dannii told the Sunday Mirror. "I most want to beat Louis. When Simon says girl judges are the cattiest, he means Lou-Lou. He even said Kylie can't sing. That was unforgivable.

"As for Sharon, you don't click with everybody. But it's her choice not to be friends. Apparently she's envious because I'm younger and prettier."

Dannii has said that she is enjoying her time in the spotlight following years of being compared to her sister.

"I'm quite fluttery with happiness," she revealed. "I've finally been accepted as me. It's a fantastic opportunity, for once, not to be compared with Kylie. At last, I've found my own slot."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tammyy2j

"As for Sharon, you don't click with everybody. But it's her choice not to be friends. Apparently she's envious because I'm younger and prettier."

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Well she certainly isnt going to 'click' with Sharon when making bitchy comments like that!!! :rolleyes:

Come on Louis, i'd love him to win and Niki to win.

I wasnt starting to like Danni but now I just dont like her anymore

I quite like Dannii. Didn't used to like her that much. I feel sorry for her too :p.

Louis had a major point when he slated Danni, he was seriously cross she said Nikki sung her song last week completely out of tune. Thats rubbish her constentant Leon dances like a stupid robot. Hope were dreadful on saturday to murder Spice Girls was bad to destroy a Queen song was utterly unforgiveable. Niki and Rhydian in the final 2 surely,

whats next weeks theme?

sorry to say.......

but does no one think that all this years finalists are really weak?

Niki - as much as is think she is fab and the true star of the show - she has a niche market and cannot hope to be as sucessful as leona

same difference - once this is over they will rule teh disney channel and be very hip with the tweenies but will not have a major pop career

rhydian - also very niche - will be a big star in musicals not the pop industry

leon - cute but very forgettable

no one really stands out this year apart from rhydiculous