This time last year, Sofabet had some fun speculating about which famous acts the potential finalists would duet with for the show’s climax. It’s worth reading our 2010 article mainly for the first part in which we discussed the impact of various pairings in previous finals. In brief, we suspect a good duet can make a big difference – Alexandra and Beyonce being the classic example.
As it transpires, most of our guesses for 2010 match-ups were wrong. In the end Matt sang with Rihanna, which didn’t seem like an obvious fit beforehand, and certainly didn’t during their performance, as the global superstar towered over the Essex painter and decorator. Rebecca’s pairing with Christina Aguilera seemed much more likely to work, until the Liverpudlian lass acted out the definition of starstruck and fluffed her lines on stage.
One Direction picked the short straw of Robbie Williams, which was an indication to us here at Sofabet that producers knew they weren’t going to be winning the title. Their duet was suitably uninspiring and we are hoping Robbie is not involved this year. Ironically, the pairing that ended up working best was superficially the least successful. Cher Lloyd had plenty of fun with will.i.am but her lack of popularity among the public meant she was already booked for fourth place.
So what of this year’s potential duets?
We’ll start with favourites Little Mix, as there seems to be an obvious pairing in mind: Jessie J. This year’s breakthrough star has already featured on the show and with the girlband: she accompanied Tulisa at judges’ houses where she admitted she was “a little bit in love with them”; she let the girls join her on stage during one of her concerts; and she appeared on last week’s results show and endorsed the girls once again.
What do we think of this pairing? Generally, it’s a strong one that should suit the girls. Jessie J is an outstanding live performer, and appeals to the young demographic that producers have generally aimed Little Mix towards, as their song choices have indicated. Simon worries about Jessie J that ‘the blue rinse brigade… have not heard of her’, and this could well be the case, though her appearances on X Factor and Manchester Rocks for Children In Need have boosted her profile among the general public.
This is a shrewd, obvious pairing, and we’d be surprised if producers go elsewhere. For the sake of entertainment, we will throw a few other names into the ring. The girls performed a Justin Bieber song in the quarter-final, the teen heartthrob has appeared in a previous series of X Factor, and is a guest performer in the semi-final results show. Such a pairing would certainly get that young demographic talking, though might send his more rabid fans into piques of jealousy. One Direction could also be called upon. We feel that would leave the stage looking very crowded, though it would nicely dovetail with today’s rumours of Perrie and Zayn dating.
Moving on to Marcus. One possibility is Bruno Mars, who Marcus seems to have been partly styled on after the former’s appearance earlier this series. With the potential for seeming like a pale imitation, we’re not keen on this idea. The speculation is that Michael Buble has been booked for the final, and if that really is true, Marcus seems the most likely fit. Both appeal to an older demographic – the housewife and granny vote if you like, because they’re both personable and attractive young men.
Vocally it may not be so useful for Marcus, however. We agree with Dug that Marcus has vocal limitations which need to be masked. A slower tempo duet with Michael Buble would expose the fact that Marcus is no crooner, much as the show would like to portray him as such. He struggles in the lower register, especially in slower songs. If it is Buble that the Liverpudlian lad sings with, one of the former’s midtempo, recent numbers will be the best they could manage, and it doesn’t strike us as the most useful combination.
We think Marcus would be better off doing an uptempo number with a more soulful singer, and short of the probably impossible dream of giving Marcus his ideal pairing of idol Stevie Wonder, our more realistic preference would be ‘Bright Lights, Bigger City’ with Cee Lo Green. This is not an original idea: Marcus himself opened the group song of this number in the week 4 results show. It seemed perfectly suited to his voice then (although only the first line appeared sung live).
The soul star has appeared on both X Factor USA and Strictly Come Dancing in recent weeks, in an attempt to continue selling his recent album. We’d also enjoy watching the size differential between the slight figure of Marcus and the vast American – Marcus would at least come across as the better mover and Louis could say, “Marcus, you look like a little Cee Lo Green”. In fact, about the only possible duettist we can think of who wouldn’t tower over the diminutive Liverpudlian is the claymation Jackie Wilson from 1986’s Reet Petite.
If they wanted to cause a stir for the act that will find it most difficult to gain votes in the final, Misha B, they could pair her with Adele, who is rumoured to be returning from throat surgery to sing during the final weekend. Whether the UK’s biggest current pop export will also duet with one of the finalists has not been mentioned, but if she did, a match-up with the Manchester lass would be intriguing to say the least. You will remember that Misha has already successfully performed an Adele number – ‘Rolling in the Deep’ in week one – adding her own original rap to it.
Leona Lewis has also apparently been booked for a performance in the final, although there’s been no word on whether she will duet with anybody. We’re not sure that a Leona / Misha duet would work as they offer two contrasting vocal styles. (Leona / Marcus is not such a contrast, but again, would likely expose the latter’s limitations with a difficult ballad.) One can never rule out Rihanna being included once again, she seems happy to appear on the X Factor franchise as often as she can, and this may preferable for Misha, given she is more likely to hold her own here. Better still would be Jennifer Hudson, an idol of Misha’s, who watched her audition at judges’ houses alongside her friend Kelly Rowland.
With Amelia Lily, for entertainment value alone we demand that they book Carol Decker. The lead singer of 80s band T’Pau was unnecessarily dissed by head judge Gary Barlow when he said of the Middlesbrough girl’s rendition of ‘China in Your Hand’, “it’s nice to hear that sung in tune for once”. The same week, Amelia performed ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, and Kelly Clarkson has appeared on the results show already this series, so is a possibility. Given how weak Amelia Lily was with this number, she may look like a poor imitation next to the winner of the first American Idol, however.
Otherwise, Pink is entirely appropriate given it seems to be Amelia’s favourite colour and they are at the rockier end of the spectrum, although she has been keeping a low profile of late. Katy Perry is also a possible given she enjoys appearing on the show and Amelia’s most impressive performance was arguably ‘ET’ at judges’ houses. (Likewise, Perry could do the same number with Little Mix, who performed it in week 4.) I’m not expecting Lady Gaga to return for the final, but if she did, Amelia has also done ‘You and I’ (though Misha has performed ‘Born This Way’ and would be another possibility here).
There is one other general option which seems highly unlikely but worth mentioning. If each of the three judges do have one act each in the final, it would be quite a story if they themselves sang with their mentees. Gary Barlow with Marcus, Tulisa or N Dubz with Little Mix, and Kelly Rowland with Misha or Amelia (the former would be a better fit). I can’t see it happening, though at the very least it may help Kelly flog a few more copies of her new album which has flopped in sales this week.
What are your thoughts on potential duets for the remaining four and their impact? Let us know your preferences or nightmare scenarios below.
I love the idea of the mentors performing duests with thier own acts 🙂 Although I think it is unlikely.
This would add a nice twist, you really are wasted here Daniel, you should be on the production crew.
Seconded!
That would be pretty cool – but I cant see it happening
a) The judges may be worried about being outperform by their contestant? 🙂
b) I’m sure some would complain saying having one is more of an advantage than another etc
although that could be said of anyone they duet with..
I’m not sure how much the duets affect the overall outcome and in some ways how much the final affects the outcome either (a lot of people already have their favoutites). One thing that does stand out as a mistake is pairing a group with another group, not least for the crowding effect as Daniel noted.
Here’s my guesses:
Little Mix : Will.i.am – I gotta feeling
Marcus: Kylie Minogue – Baby it’s cold outside (Kylie playing the predator role)
Misha : Michael Buble – Endless Love (think Maria Carey and Luther Vandross)
Amelia : Dappy – Heart and Soul (T’Pau), Dappy does the background rapping and Amelia can do the shouty bits.
Special performance by Matt Cardle singing “Last Christmas” to a picture of Simon Cowell.
I agree a lot of people will already have amde up their minds on who they want to win and have been supporting them from day 1, but
surely there’s also a number of first time viewers or perhaps better called ‘final only viewers’?
People who will tune in and watch the final only but wont be bothered/interested enough to watch the weeks prior to the final
some of them may vote – being that they only watch the final, they only have the final to go off and decide who hey want to win? so the final IMO could affect who wins a bit, no idea quite how much – depends how many first time viewers there are, and how many of these vote?
I guess we could see how many new viewers there are in the x factor finals by checking the v viewing figures and comparing with pre final wks? Not sure how to get hold of old viewing figures though
There will definitely be some of those Mark. My hunch though is that there will be greater voting effect from people who have been watching the series (on and off) but only voting in the final.
For the producers, the final is the time to harvest the seeds they’ve been sowing throughout the weeks and whilst there will always be a variable vote based on the performances; my hunch is that barring a major mistake, the variable vote isn’t the decidiing factor.
‘Off subject’. Guys and Gals, this surely HAS to be worth considering as an early e/way bet for next year. She’ll be back for sure.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/3968220/Gamu-in-clear-for-UK-stay.html
You reckon Gamu will go back if she does stay in Britain? It would cause a massive media sensation and she would be a shoe-in to win! We’ll see.
Jack. Just watched GAMU’s auditions again on YouTube and they are quite something special. She would have given this year’s lot a good run for their money for sure.
It seems that she maybe doing some gigs now but if she hasn’t been signed up to a contract, I can see her coming back to XF as she has only just got the ‘all clear’ to stay. I am sure XF will be foremost on her mind with all the publicity right now.
IF you remember, when they had to let her go from XF because of the threatened deportation there was a huge public outcry and support for her to stay. A ready made following before she even sings a note eh ?
It’s a nice idea but I think that the weight of her backstory could render her a little top heavy for a competition about turning an unknown into a superstar. With each series there’s more of a feeling that the public can’t swallow an obvious winner from beginning to end and that those set up to do well can piss people off after a while. I think Gamu’s journey from audition to finale would be very hard to navigate.
Ideal duet pairings for me would be MISHA with Chaka… Chaka … Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan.. doing ‘I’M EVERY WOMAN’.
MARCUS with STEVIE WONDER doing ‘SIR DUKE’, with the full Brass compliment on stage and MARCUS ‘Scat singing’ along to the Brass stab melody line, (how superb would that be Mr “le chat” ?)
AMELIA SILLY with LULU doing “SHOUT !!” (hopefully that first note “Weee eee eee lll” would shatter her vocal chords for good so that LULU could take over and show her how a pro really works).
And of course, my little Muffins LITTLE MIX with SCARY SPICE (or SPORTY SPICE) doing and updated “WANNABE” with a JESY Beat-box special. (just to officially hand over the ‘GIRL POWER’ reigns to LM).
Interesting take on the ‘Mentor Duet’ thing Daniel. It would be novel and it would actually work very well, but what would poor old ‘left outside’ LOUIS do (as it seems that even WESTLIFE and all his ‘imaginary friends’ have left him now as well as his acts)?
I suppose that they could always raid Madame Tussauds for the WESTLIFE dummies (no difference to the real thing on stage, and cheaper too) and put them on stage with Louis dozing off in a sleeping bag using his wallet for a pillow and with Tumbleweed blowing around Wembley Arena.
Btw, off-topic, this time Motown is the theme on Saturday with “Songs to get you into the final”, so looks like they’ll be going all out for Misha this weekend.
Also, its worth thinking that the final acts could sing their audition songs in which case it would be:
Marcus – Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Amelia – Piece of my Heart
Misha – Respect
Little Mix – Big Girls Don’t Cry (Judge’s Houses song)
I think that all of them suit their respective acts, so it doesn’t really matter that much.
Also, apparently, no sing-off, entirely public vote, so producers confident of bouncing Misha ahead of Amelia.
There has never been a singoff with 4 acts left, always public vote.
Interesting that last weeks them was going to be Motown week, yet they changed it and then this week is now motown week.
Hopefully its part of a well planned bounce to help aid misha to the final!
Is anyone offering odds on Tulisa saying that she’s never heard ‘Respect’ before?
Even with a bounce, do we think Misha has got enough support, having reached the B2 three times, to beat Amelia in a straight out vote.
Discounting her return, Amelia has been in the sing-off for 1 in 2 weeks so 50% of the time. Big Misha pimping and Amelia dumping could easily swing it.
I don’t think Amelia escaped by much last Sunday. If they are out to get her, I expect 80% of the work to be on depressing her vote, and 20% on raising Misha’s, probably through sympathy/emotion as this has worked before.
Interesting article, very well written and balanced as usual.
One question: Who is Cee Lo Green? Never heard of him and neither will the “oldies” whose votes will determine the winner.
The currency in the final is performance and content. If some unkonown artist appears it draws the content down.
Down underestimate the old folk who come to the party in the last couple of shows and their votes turn everything upside down.
Old folk will prefer AMELIA all day not only to MISHA but also LM.
There seems to be an air on the Sofa that LM are a shoe in for the final and they may well be with all the help and pimping but I reckon AMELIA will last longer in the competition because she doesn’t look like a doll or a puppet and gives a far, far better performance and will be much preferred by people over 35 (who make up the majority of the viewers) to the all girl group.
Forget You? One of the biggest songs of 2010?
What about Crazy done a few years ago, number 1 for like 10 weeks? That was by Gnarls Barkley, Cee Lo Green’s band.
Ah, that’s who they are.
I just knew them as Gnars Barclay.
Yes, they would sing “Crazy” well together.
We’ll see.
Let’s wait until we get to the final because it isnt too late for one of the established acts to go.
I agree with Little Mix singing with Jessie J … ‘Who you are’ would fit perfectly …
“Who you might have been” perhaps?
lol maybe …..it fits in with ‘Jesie’s insecurities’ the show has been using if that makes sense
No, seriously, they would sing well together but Jessie J is not such an established star that the older folk will know who she is. X Factor could learn a great deal from Strictly here- you get more “established” artists on Strictly to cater for the older audience.
I would hope someone like Paul McCartney would sing with MARCUS, unlikely but you never know.
Simon. Macca WAS on XF in 2009. You may have been watching Strictly or out at the Bingo with the older Amelia fans (who ere looking for a late night Chemist for new hearing aid batteries), lol.
Simon, Jessie J was on Strictly this year (Wembley episode) but she duetted with James Morrison which perhaps made it more accessible for the older views – it might mean that they know who she is now though.
On a slightly unrelated note to the article, has anyone been doing a scan of online polls this week and they are all showing Little Mix a mile clear
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?s=1b2282a471346b539d002cb8234b2756&t=1590691
Little mix 45%, AL 23%, MC 18, MB 11%, sample 700
http://xfactor-updates.com/pollsarchive/
Little Mix 51% sample 600
Chris O. I do the same scans too and although they are not totally reliable in reflecting the actual ‘paying voter’ figures, they are all the same a fairly ‘consistent’ picture now right across the board.
With LITTLE MIX ‘Steamrollering’ way ahead and THE PINK ONE well trailing in second, LM look really safe now with the massive fan-base and endorsements they are building up.
MARCUS has some work to do still to see THE KARAOKE SCREAMER off to 3rd if they are anywhere near representative. He should smash it though with it being Motown week (and with the help of MISHA doing the same to catch him up and get AL to 4th and out).
For once in my life I may relent and even pick up the phone myself for MC or MISHA just to show willing instead of relying on others to do it as I have a great and preferable LM/MC win and f/c investment to protect now (with a reduced return LM/ANY forecast insurance covers on the others).
If I don’t and it bombs, then I will have no right to moan whilst I am kicking the Cat (figure of speech ‘only’ for all fellow animal lovers out there).
Surely the majority of Marcus’s voters won’t be using social networking sites?
on DS forums they’r saying there’s gonna be a sing-off this sunday, because the xfactor commercial on tv said “You & judges decide who goes to finals!”
sry for double post, i dont think its true however.. because it would be total bs..
taichou. AS XF invent the rules as they go along, it DOES actually have a ring of truth in it for a ‘sing off’ to happen if they want to get rid of the main threat of AMELIA over MISHA (a la JANET/MISHA style), as she does appear to be trending over MARCUS and well under LITTLE MIX with MB bottom.
Not a good thing really to ‘risk’ an ‘undeserving’ late comer to snook into the top 3 over MARCUS after all the hard work he has put in and with all the ‘well earned’ street cred he has already built up over months with paying/voting fans.
They also HAVE to create a bigger gap between LM/MC (or MC/LM) and 3rd place to ensure that they get the right top 2 as they want it.
They HAVE to get rid asap and there’s no time left for a 1,000 cuts job now, they may just ‘melt’ her with a jug of water (or drop house on her in a Munchkinland stage backdrop) this week.
hehe yeah, and its Motown week.. so Misha, Marcus should shine..:), btw offtopic kinda shocking Drew was voted off in XF USA… kinda shock that janet and drew both went on a same week..
Motown eh ? Strike 1 against AL then before we even start. Should be fun to see what else XF do to lever her out. Maybe give here an Instrumental perhaps ?
Missed USA XF (out and recorder on blink). Shame, I liked Drew. Believe she had a meltdown too. Also Astro went as well I see. He is a real cool dude for his young age that one, and should make it anyway no worries.
Astro was a cool dude all right but he was a precotious little twit who needed to grow up. Drew was a one trick pony although a good one. We’ll have a look at USA more closely once we bring home the UK bacon!
AMELIA is a real threat in this show and dont mistake it. It could very well be an AMELIA/MARCUS final.
I was amazed too see the USA result this morning, Marcus who was in bottom 2 last week saved again against Drew !? I checked the elimination market on bf 2 hours before the result show and there was 7 euro matched so nobody is interested there (I don’t know if anything happened live when bottom 3 was announced).
According to wiki page, “Cowell was visibly upset by Drew’s elimination, and didn’t make any comments towards his fellow judges after announcing the votes for her elimination.”.
I’ve only been watching US X-Factor sporadically but I’m surprised that Nicole and Paula went against the script and voted Drew out. I presumed they were Simon’s lap dogs who were grateful to be thrown the bone of being on the judging panel. Andrew/Daniel/anyone any theories on what happened with Drew? Is the usual producer manipulation and tactics not working on the US version? Or were people just tired of her trotting out the same version of every song?
lolhart, me too was watching sporadically and I think that’s the key issue – we didn’t realize what the script actually is (rather than judges went against it). Or maybe they wanted to keep one black performer in the game for balance.
Hi lolhart, Boki,
Have been watching even less than sporadically but could it be that the script in this instance was to make it look like the format allows for mean old Simon Cowell to be emasculated, in an attempt to grab some headlines and draw in new viewers – “hey folks, this really is different from Idol, honest”?
Andrew, just “scanned” the result show, they really made it look like Simon is genuinly upset, he said it was his fault for song choice and he was begging the other judges not to vote Drew off. So to an average viewer it really looks like they deservedly punished him for his annoying mean behaviour – so your theory might be spot on. The only loser is Drew who was completely devastated.
They say no sing-off.
X Factor 2011: No sing-off for this weekend’s semi-final!
Read more: http://xfactor.tellymix.co.uk/news/62805-x-factor-2011-no-sing-off-for-this-weekends-semi-final.html#ixzz1fMqevEob
Hi Boki, on the basis of the tellymix report surely Misha B “value” at 10/11 with Lads and PP to go next?
Hi Mike, it seems so but I’m going to wait and see if they are going to play the tricks on Amelia. Also, can we be 100% sure that tellymix article is accurate (I’m not from UK so I’m always in doubt)?
Hi Mike, Could mean one of two things – they’re confident they can get Misha above Amelia, or they’re resigned to losing Misha. 10/11 does look more than fair, doesn’t it? But as Boki says, (a) we only have a tellymix report not yet an official confirmation from the show itself, and (b) we’ll learn a lot more from the respective treatment of Misha and Amelia on Saturday’s show.
I dont believe they are confident about anyone or particularly bothered who makes the final.
Why should they be?
The remaining acts are all first class performers and will put up a good show.
I think the only certainty is that MARCUS will be there- it would be a boring final with all chicks.
Who will go?
Don’t rule out LM
I heard all this “trending” and “internet activity friends” etc about JANET and she sank without trace.
Internet forums are not indicative of voting patterns in a show like this.
MILLIONS vote, and the vast mjority of them do not use social media – they will simply vote for the best performer.
LM may have their work cut out to get to the final if AMELIA performs as she is doing at the moment, and MISHA B(ully) gets a bounce.
Simon. Now what have I told you before about drinking that stuff, lol. AMELIA first class ? MARCUS agreed, yes (and whats happened to the staunch ‘good ship’ support ?).
LM also don’t have to perform with 1,000 XF daggers in their backs, forgetting the words and wanting to hoick after partaking of the naughty stuff like she intimated and grinned about on that sofa interview video.
Hi Pete
I’m still very much on the bridge of the Good Ship Marcus, after many battles and storms we are on the final stretch with fair weather ahead and our crew are almost there.
Almost.
One last supreme effort to beat off AMELIA and I reckon we’re home.
Not too worried about LM – well actually ALL of thre remaining three acts have to be a threat because they are still in the competition but I regard AMELIA as more of a threat than the other two because she is an all round more appealing PERFORMER – emphasis on general appeal.
We’ll know tomorrow night but LM might not transfer the hype and current behind them into enough votes if MISHA B puts up a good show.
Simon. Fingers X’d for both of us then. MARCUS is as much a ‘good ship’ for me as he is for you, so praying for a good prevailing wind too.
(Looks likes were getting it as well tonight in the North according to the w/report). Batten down the hatches and get my Tesco insurance policy ready methinks. Thaaaar she blowwwws Cap’n !!
With you all the way Pete!
Hoist the main sail and let’s get going! Batton down the hatches and avast ye there etc (and general salty sea dog type noises)
Tend to agree with Simon. Can’t see anyone being massively stiched up just so they finish fourth rather than third, for example. Surely producers must think they have four acts who could have some sort of career now.
producers may one a girl to finish fourth so three mentors have an act each in the final…
They may be keen Amelia doesn’t win after kicking her out once, and decide it’s easier to stitch her in the semi than the final (a bit less focus on it) or try this week then try again next week if they fail.
I can’t see any of the others getting stitched up though.
I believe they can, have and do stitch up acts in the early rounds eg SAMI, NU VIBE, CRAIG, KITTY, SOPHIE but later on in the show the songs are too long and the swelling number of viewers ensure a fairer playing field where the PTB cannot turn the show.
Previous final stages are littered with torn up betting slips for pimped acts like 1D and I expect LM to follow suit if not on Sunday, then before the gold medal is awarded.
The only winners I can see are MC with a saver on AL and a soft sell on MC to ensure a superb start to the Christmas shopping next week.
Cheese everyone!
I only see two winners at this Point if its not Little Mix, it will be Marcus, to me its quite simple. I don’t see either Amelia are Misha winning. I don’t see the comparision with One direction, and Little Mix the only comparision is there both groups and young, other then that, I feel Little Mix appeal is alot wider then One Directions was, Ive seen young girls, older people, and men say they are voting for Little Mix, there is a older gentle on Digital Spy who is in his 60s and he is a massive little mix fan who votes loads, and there is also a lady who is in her 30s with like 2 kids voting for little mix, I think people are underestimating how wide little mix fanbase appeals too. And Little Mix has the fact that they are way better singers.
That 63 year old man on Digital Spy is creepy. I find it a bit disturbing he is obsessed with a group of teenage girls (even claiming to have voted 100+ times last week…)
Lol maybe, but the point I was trying to make was, clearly they appeal to more then just young girls, Ive seen a lot more older women say they were voting for them also, and teenage, and older boys. I think older people relate to them because they just seem like girls who can be there daughters, are there daughters friends from school are something. That to me is why they can win, there appeal to me is wider then One direction. And Im a older female 30 from the USA.
Iam sorry,but can any one explain me why they should risk Marcus to win this year competyton? If their plan is to have a group (LM) as no 1 than the only left their seriuus contestant is Marcus.Why shouldn’t they get rid of him now(or make him weaker)?To have a mix in final(male, female,group)would be fine,but to have two weak acts and a strong group sounds like to have a certain winer.
Because amongst all the drama and corruption I believe that the producers (and ITV’s) main priority it to entertain the audience and get good ratings. An all female final would be an awful prospect for them, especially with ratings being down considerably (20% ish) on the last two years. They are pulling out all the stops with a massive Wembley Final and I really can’t see them wanting to ruin that with an all female final (which like it or not would isolate a large chunk of their viewers).
Thing is I assume they will want to reduce Marcus’ appeal in the final and increase Little Mix’s. The problem is they walk a very fine line of tipping the scales and making the final seem like a flop with poor/boring performances and celeb guests.
Thing is I agree with Sofabet on the fact that I reckon even though the producers would love Little Mix winning, they would be happy with them placing in the final. I reckon Little Mix will get a massive push this week (along with Misha) and then next week all the acts will receive roughly equal pimping.
I would honestly love a all girl finale, out here in American Idol, we haven’t had a all girl finale since season 3, and I know alot of people want a all girl finale for American Idol too, I guess its different in the UK, has there ever been a all girl finale in the X Factor?
But there shouldn’t just be an all girl (or all boy) final for the sake of it. Also lets say Marcus did drop out this week, the final would be even more boring with the fact that the winner would be obvious.
Oh yea I agree, but if the three girls perform great, and he doesn’t perform as well, and gets shockingly booted why would that be a bad thing. I think all three girls are capable on putting on a good finale if it came down to it.
Whoever wins, after two albums and ‘A Greatest Hits’, they’ll be just a footnote in Pop History in the same way Doug Sanders is in golf.
You know what? With every week that passes, I miss Funtime Frankie. True, he could sing every note but, not necessarily, in the right order. However, he was self-congruent, authentic and true to himself.
What you saw is EXACTLY what you got with him – something that cannot be said for the shabby collection of smiling ninnies we’ve got left.
I’ve enjoyed this series but, boy-oh-boy, am I sick of all these R’n’B, Soul Train wannabees. We’ve heard it ALL before, and whether they can sing or not, I frankly do not care.
I’d rather sandpaper my own eyeballs than sit through an album by MC or the Mancunian Macy Gray.
I thought Jessie J’s performance was terrible! Thought she was good until then. I thought she shouted her way through
Getting all five of Girls Aloud on stage (ie a reunion) in the duet with Little Mix would be the biggest thing they could do (well, barring the impossible Spice Girls reunion).
They’d need to sneak Nadine Coyle into the country, run Jessie J as a fake-out and hold secret rehearsals as well as fake ones to keep the secret. And then they run those initial chords to “Love Machine”. LM do the first verse and then the five Girls Aloud appear for the first chorus.
Well, I can dream, can’t I?
I actually doubt that it would help that much – all the attention would be on Nadine’s return and Little Mix would be overshadowed.