The results show for judges’ houses (Judges’ Houses? – is it enough of an institution to capitalise?) continued in the theme of sledgehammer subtlety. We opened on a not-so-tense segment of star girl Ella Henderson receiving Tulisa’s first yes of the evening’s edit. Next up, the not so favoured Jade, Jade and Leanne were bundled together with only London Jade making the grade.
When you get to the point at which one contestant is edited against three, you would have to be either a single-celled organism or an average ITV viewer to miss the point. I never got as far as deciding whether or not I liked Leanne Robinson but by the sounds of it she was a cut above the rest, vocally speaking. Now, alas, she’s just another talented black girl that went home at Judges’ Houses (capitalisation is happening).
Ella is now trading at a top price of 6/4, and I’m certainly inclined to agree with Nugg on the following:
“The producers will not want to be running with a one horse race through the lives, so I think we best be prepared for some heavy pimping of one or two other contenders during the first few live shows.”
Anyone who caught wind of Chatterbox5200’s excellent pause-button investigation of Saturday’s show might have wondered if Amy was going through and leaving Lucy as the strong wildcard. Whilst I think the arrangement of photo cards on the judges’ tables was too blink-and-you’ll-miss-it to have been an intentional red herring, I think it is more likely that the props were organised by a continuity staffer according to the prepared script in order to suggest tension.
Leaving Lucy as the wildcard contender would have suggested some incompetence as well as paving the way for a ‘people’s champion’ narrative on which producers might struggle to slam the brakes should they decide Lucy isn’t viable for the show. Ketamine Adele, whose losing edit showed a lot of favour, makes for a much less dangerous wildcard if she makes it through – she’s currently trading at 2/1 second favourite.
In the groups category, MK0.666 unsurprisingly beat out Mitsotu in the ‘perfunctory urban act’ category. The other two groups through to the lives were GMD3 and Union J.
Who is in line to be the alpha, beta and gamma group remains arguably more of a head-scratcher than in the other categories. I have to agree with Daniel that on evidence so far, the newly formed Union J are vocally leagues ahead of their boyband rivals. On the one hand, they could be being groomed for an underdog victory as top band. On the other, they come across as a little too desperate and puppy-eyed whilst GHB are more like three cheeky (American-voiced) chappies that are just happy to be at the party.
Incidentally, news comes through on the X Factor website that GMD3 are soliciting viewer help to choose a new name. It worked for Rhythmix.
Despite their heavily cut segment on Saturday, Tpfkar is “surprised MK1 are at such long odds” whilst Monsieur Le Chat fancies them for top band. I’m not sure that I would go that far, but the pair do seem to have the least manufactured chemistry of the groups.
It was never going to be an easy ride for the wildcard group – Times Red are currently 10/1 to win the 13th slot in the lives. Louis’s assertion that the Abercrombie beat-boxers were ‘too old’ for the competition can’t have done them any favours at all.
Itchy-chested prodigal epicentre of artistic torment and possible part-time hobo James Arthur was next up with an Ella-style segment of his own to reflect another strong vocal performance on Saturday. Nicole broke the news and he quickly called someone up – possibly one of his fictional foster families – to share in the joy.
There was no big surprise or producer favourite narrative revealed behind Starboy Nathan, who simply went home leaving us all to wonder why we’ve been speculating back and forth on his chances for so long. Poor Jake Quickenden didn’t see an upturn in his luck and Funky Davros was sent through despite Nicole’s worries about his nerves.
Finally it was Rylan vs Adam, with the former act making it through and solidifying his place as this year’s camp-as-Christmas panto act. The wildcard contender was once again the final rejectee. Well done X Factor, you have made formulaic editing an art form and won all the prizes.
Adam’s the 25/1 wildcard outsider and I’m not that worried about him – he might be a dark horse going into the lives but I don’t see a poor man’s Aiden Grimshaw beating out Shaky Maloney and Ketamine Adele without more of a backstory.
Finally, in geriatric land, old man Sones went right up in my estimations after threatening to projective vomit on Gary Barlow (I wonder if Dermot will promote Gary from ‘one of the finest singer-songwriters of our generation’ to ‘saviour of the known universe’ in this year’s live shows). It was a yes for Kye, although Gary looked disappointingly dry, and a pair of big fat nos for Brad (‘I thought I was going through!’) and Nicola Marie (a mistake in my opinion – she was like a cruise-ship Kitty).
Carolynne received her own segment, potentially marking her as the alpha over, and whilst I don’t think her country shtick has much place on this side of the Atlantic, I have to give her credit for snotting on Borelow’s shoulder. A note to Kye: promise less, deliver more.
It was final yes vs wildcard contestant once more as part-time fairy Melanie Masson (who could be 32 or 68) fluttered by into the live stages, leaving SuBo Robinson with the agonising final rejection. The man is mediocre community theatre at best and I can’t see producers wanting him to do well in the competition, so I shall have to assume that his inclusion really is part of a backstage game to see how much he can be made to tremble. I reckon they’ll be measuring the tremors on the Richter scale come next weekend. The runners probably have bets going on it.
We closed with a brief ‘revelation’ on the wildcard twist (as if we didn’t know) and then followed a hideous montage of the final 12 singing earnestly in black and white. Congratulations are in order to whichever intern stayed up all night on that. It was like an audition reel for a Coca Cola advert from the 90s.
We’ll be back later in the week with an assessment of the wildcard situation, as well as our beloved annual finishing-order prediction piece. I can’t help but thinking of Catherine Tate – “It’s just a bit of FUN! Have a GUESS!” Until then, good commenters of the Sofabet community, do let us know your thoughts. Will it be a coup for Shaky Maloney? Or will Ketamine Adele survive the day to warble again? What about the Abercrombie beat-boxers or the poor-man’s Aiden Grimshaw? And most importantly, are any of them a real threat to the show’s main contenders?
Good write up Dugg, Ladbrokes have priced up each catagory, 10/11 Top boy James Arthur looks a fair price , 5/2 Carolynne Poole Top Overs is too big IMHO
Seeing the odds now I believe the value is with Amy…
5/2 on Carolynne. Yes please.
I agree Boki, Shakey 2/1 was value but would much rather bet Amy at 5/2 than Shakey at 2/5
Caroline Poole 3/1 top overs with Betfred .. outstaning value?
I believe Amy will advance too and do my prediction
1. Ella
2. James
3. Carolynne
4. GMD3
5. Kye
6. Lucy
7. MK1
8. Jahmene
9. Rylan
10. Amy
11. Jade
12. Union J
13. Melanie
Just my main doubt is with MK1. If the public takes to them they could motor on to the top 4 in place of GHB3.
Uh oh, Betfair have told me the first elimination market won’t open until we know the identity of the wildcard – which may not be until the end of the first live show!!!
Excellent analysis, Dugg.
I won’t be getting involved in the Wildcard market, though at the prices discussed I would prefer to back Amy than Shaky. However, I will be taking a large (four-figure) plunge on Ella, who, in line with most of the commenters above, I think has enough producer momentum behind her to front-run to the finish.
In short, I think we have another Cardle on our hands: a well-backed, heavily-pimped series favourite who ultimately wins hands down.
Now that the Cult of Spraggan has imploded, I agree with Highlighted and others that the most credible threat to Ella will come from James Arthur. Indeed, I will concede that I (and a lot of others) may have misjudged the lad. He’s growing as the series progresses, and at the moment I predict a second-place finish for him.
I’m not sure yet whether to take the 6/4 still available on Ella, or wait a few weeks before I plunge in. I’ll let you know, and report honestly on my success/failure.
Hi Karaokesusan
I would wait, I really would. 6/4 in a 13 horse filed where no one has been out in a live show is far too short. she could forget her words, she could – and will face critisism and someone else will come out of the pack – probably MK1 in the groups and Kye in the overs. She will be availble at better than 6/4 beofre the end of the series, mark my words.
KaraokeSauron by predicting: “I think we have another Cardle on our hands: a well-backed, heavily-pimped series favourite who ultimately wins hands down”. You are suggesting the producers want to create a sitution which generates the least amount of interest in the outcome as possible. While she may indeed win, winning from the front is a huge anticlimax for all concerned & just will not happen. The pressure on her price can only be upwards from this point, and any victory trajectory will come with some redemption or resurgence.
Thanks for the comments… Monsieur ‘Le Chat’, I must first get pedantic about my username, which is SAURON not SUSAN. But actually, I think I’m going to change it to ‘Prodigal Epicentre’ in honour of James Arthur.
Regarding the large bet, it’s something I need to plan fairly thoroughly anyway, and wasn’t set to plunge in straight away (i.e, today). But I’m not sure I agree with your analysis about the price. We’ve already seen two strong contenders – Lucy and Jahmene – display grave (I would say fatal) weaknesses in technique and ability (Spraggan) and temperament (Jahmene). James Arthur is now the most credible threat to Ella, followed (I think) by the groups – GMD3, in particular.
Thomas – Let’s see whether your certainty regarding Ella (‘just will not happen’) is misplaced. It happened for Cardle, and Cowell is on the record as describing that particular series as his favourite to date. It was also the original plan for Janet Devlin, before she started showing too great a capacity for autonomous thought.
Indeed, I’m expecting Ella’s price to shorten much further in the next 2-3 weeks.
“KaraokeSusan” is funny though 😀
Thing about James Arthur is, I’m not sure he has the “guy next door” factor, which arguably you need to win. Maybe if you live in a castle in Transylvania he does (I’m horrible), but he’s no Matted Cardigan. Middle England will not warm to him.
I’m saying this without having seen judges’ houses or all of bootcamp yet, but despite the fact Ella is Plan A (and as Rabbie Burns said, “the best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley”), Lucy should absolutely not be discounted. We’re currently experiencing a watershed where internet culture is increasingly taking over popular culture – as I speak, the fastest selling paperback of all time is a piece of Twilight fanfiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifty_Shades_Of_Grey#Origin_as_fan_fiction) and the UK no.1 is a rap song entirely in Korean that went viral on Youtube. In this sort of environment, woe betide punters who turn a blind eye to Lucy’s 13 million Youtube views, her major iTunes success immediately after her audition, and her 170,000 Twitter followers (by way of comparison, Little Mix took until Week 8 last year to reach this number of followers, by which point there were only 5 contestants left).
Hi Sauron,
I must agree with Simon “le Chat” 🙂
Although Ella is a worthy favourite, I cannot see her price shortening any further in next 2 weeks, it’s short enough already, at the very least I would expect 7/4 or 2/1 to be available at some point, possibly 9/4+.
Remember Littlemix were available at this sort of price on the week before the final and they were the biggest certainty in years.
I do beleive she will win, but not without a upset or two along he way, and another act challenging for favouritism at some point.
Good luck with the bet, but hold out at least a week.
I’m starting to think Carolynne could be one of the chosen ones. She’s had very good edits so far – and every time she’s on screen they seem to be playing “The Climb” in the background as if to subliminally put in our heads that she is the winner.
6/4 on union j top group is the giveaway of the market in my eyes at this moment in time, far superior to Gmtv vocally and look better as well, i think they are the only group who can potentially make the final, and i expect the 3 some boy band to be thrown under the bus within the first few weeks
Interesting difference of opinion on the groups with many people disagreeing. MK1 are the top group for me.
rappers dont do well on the x factor, hard to see mk1 going past half way
From digital spy forum week 1 songs
Ella Henderson:- Born to Try by the Australian Artist Delta Goodrem
Jade Ellis:- Marilyn Monroe by Hip Hop Artsit Nicki Minaj
Lucy Spraggan:- Pumped up Kicks by pop rock group Foster The People
MK1 is the top group for me too. I personally can’t stand them but Charlie seems to have gained strong following and they have had the most positive editing to date.
Ella obviously top girl. People are turning off Lucy in their droves already & XF viewers aren’t her key audience.
Itchy Arthur should be top boy given that Rylan is a joke and Jahmene is due to implode.
Arthur will need a major makeover to attract the girl vote. I’m not too sure on this one as Jahmene has a lot of support and could be difficult to dislodge (I still think Jahmene will end up fifth & Itchy will be top 3).
Not sure about the overs. Carolynne is the most pimped to date but I don’t see her getting any major public support. She comes across as soulless.
Melanie seems to get much more public attention. The younger audience either lover her or hate her and I think mothers will warm to her much more than Poole.
Kye, I don’t get him. I only hope he sings “Chim-chimney-chim-chimney-chim-chim-cheroo” before he leaves.
Excellent to see the range of opinion… I guess my question would be whether we could envisage MK1 beating Ella for the popular vote. Charlie is clearly lined up for big things in producers’ eyes and has youth appeal, but would that be enough to see off the solid, MOR favourite?
GMD3 strike me as more conventional X-Factor fare but I can see the appeal of both other acts in their category. Personally, I think the Groups are the hardest to call this series.
Yes – James Arthur, top boy. I sense an upsurge in support for the latter, from the judges and public. I could imagine him being kept in against Jahmene (if it came to it); I was interested to see the number of messages (and green arrows) praising his makeover on the Daily Mail website this morning too. He’s shifting gears and becoming a real contender.
(My personal favourite? Rylan Clark, indubitably.)
Top girl – Ella. The Cult of Spraggan (I like that phrase so I’ll use it again) has imploded – as I predicted it would – and in Jade Ellis I see Sophie Habibis, Mk.2. Still an unknown quantity to a degree; and her lapse of concentration/nerves at Boot Camp didn’t help things.
Top Over – R: I like your remark re: Carolynne as ‘soulless’. You’re spot on… And this is a quality a lot of people are discussing on Digital Spy. (A forum I regard as the vanguard of X-Factor opinion. Fascinating to see how much tabloid fodder bubbles up from that fecund source.) Kye, I’m afraid, is no better than average; and Melanie is an acquired taste. It’s Carolynne for me, with reservations.
The Dark Horse at this point… is James Arthur.
Just a quick one on price, aimed at MrChippendale (see above). Sir, don’t expect narrative shift to correlate (at all) with movements in price. Yes, other acts will be pimped over others week by week, with Ella doubtless coming in for her share of criticism, but none of this will have any impact on price in the absence of a concerted Stop Ella campaign by producers, a la last year. The public are easier to fool than bookmakers. We can expect the illusion of momentum swing, and narrative flow, but in the absence of a folk hero emerging from the pack (or someone playing an absolute blinder) you can ascribe most of that to controlled opposition at best.
Why wouldn’t producers continue to execute Plan A, considering how much they’ve invested in it already?
Final question: What price on one of the lives being presented by a holographic Jimmy Savile??
im not sure how james arthur can be classed as a dark horse, from the position of 2nd favourite, as he is now neck and neck with jahmene. I backed jahmene a few weeks back, and while his odds have still remained around the same, im suprised how many people seem to be writing him off, in my opinion if he can see off his nerves, and gets some good vocal training, told not to over do it, i can see him making the final at the very least, there is no reason he wont take the girly vote ahead of the likes of james arthur, he definately has a stronger vocal than james arthur, and id definately see him as cleaning up with the granny vote. The only thing arthur has ahead of him is he plays the guitar and knows how too completely revamp songs and put his own unique spin on it. I wouldnt be confident enough to invest any more money in jahmene, but im happy enough for others to be taking the limelight at this point in time. After all, there wasnt much hype about marcus collins and even less about rhythmix this time last year
Betfair have now opened elimination market.
With regard to identifying the Alpha Group, the editing to date would seem to imply that GMD3 are the preferred Boy Band, being put through ahead of Triple J (before the latter was extended by the addition of another member to form Union J). Coverage in the press and online today asking fans/viewers to help the boys find a new name before Saturday’s first live show, as their current name exists already in the form of a plumbing supplies company in the USA – nothing to do with it be widely slated and Sharon Osbourne saying at Judges’ Houses that it sounded like a virus – could be seen as a way of giving the boys some additional publicity, and making the teen girl market feel that they have a way to buy into the band, with the winner being invited to the show to meet-and-greet them. Union J’s name change, however, was decided without any such publicity.
A little bit of digging around online has unearthed that the “School” that they all met at, was actually the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and they all play the guitar and piano (something which has yet to be shown during the audition process). The boys supported former America’s Got Talent contestant Alexis Jordan on her UK tour, and an interview in April revealed that their YouTube channel had received over over 1 million views and their Twitter following was in the region of 70.000
One of this year’s rule changes – to allow acts with existing management deals to enter – could also be in their favour. GMD3 are currently managed by a company called Maxim Artist Management, which is headed by Jayne Collins, who is responsible for putting together The Saturdays and The Wanted. However, it will be interesting to see how acts with existing management deals and those that write their own material are treated by the producers, as they may not be seen as such a potential revenue generator for SyCo/Sony as those acts that are “discovered” on the show.
I think you may well be onto something here. Great post.
R, intrigued to hear why you say MK1 have had the most positive edit to date. If anything, I’d have said the opposite – at bootcamp the edit made their performance into a backdrop to Jahmene’s panic attack, while both GMD3 and Triple J got all that extra screentime with the singoff at the end.
Chatterbox, great research on GMD3. The counterargument is that Union J are being set up for a victorious underdog storyline, and that the rebrand and addition of George Shelley indicate that producers have taken a close interest in them.
It’s interesting that Stu Heritage in the Graun today quips that GMD3 are “basically cannon fodder for Union J”. Fascinating that clued-up observers of the show are differing so much about Alpha Group this year – props to producers for that.
Hi Andrew,
MK1 had a 6.30 minute first audition and the first day of Bootcamp had them in a sing off with the Lightbulb Thieves.
At Judges’ Houses they had a song that suited them, a lot of positive comments “confident but not overconfident” and a decent amount of airtime.
They don’t have any “urban” competition – Jade Ellis won’t last long.
With regard to the splice with Jahmene, not even Ella was featured in both bootcamp shows.
GMD3 do look like the first band to go. They were in the 3 in the JH results, had negative comments and the comments on YT suggest a lukewarm level on interest. One comment was “How do they expect to win, their not even attractive”.
I may be wrong about Union J. They seem to be getting compared to 1D since George’s inclusion and I can see them growing throughout the competition. Maybe having 1D doing a backstage VT with them will give them a major boost. But at the moment this is still a major unknown and their treatment to date has been very similar to GMD3.
Of course we do have to remember what happened with The Risk last year.
Predicting is hard at this stage but I will try to share my thoughts about top 3. First reaction was Ella for the obvious reasons. Then I think one of the ‘indie’ acts will join her, not sure if James will land good enough with the public but they will help him if needed (Misha style). In order to avoid 2 girls in top3 I put Lucy to 5th or 6th place (handbrake Janet style if needed). Third spot in my top3 is for an over and I choose Kye for that one, Carolynne is decent but totally uninteresting. Groups are difficult to me in terms of how much support the alpha group will get (and who is the alpha group anyway). I don’t see Mk1 as a serious threat because of rap and one of the boybands should leave early leaving another but can’t see the future for any. Btw I typed this during the day without influence of other comments, sorry if I repeat someone else.
So looking at the oddschecker I pick 3 out of odds top 4, not exactly original. Ella looks above the rest at the moment but so was Janet last year in terms of support. I put some last minute bet on her and will be glad to lay off the stake at these insane odds because that’s part of my betting style.
But something else is bugging me. Most of the performers this year are emotional, with lot of soul, original etc. but I can imagine a big group of people getting bored by too much ballads and soul. Who will provide what Marcus provided last year – good up-tempo performer who delivers every week a well known pop hit with confidence and smile on his face? Such jumpy up-tempo oriented person could stand out even more this year. Among the girls, Lucy will provide some but not in Marcus way of course. Could Rylan surprise us (other two boys not it seems)? Does this Marcus type search make any sense at all?
Completely agree with your last paragraph Boki. This is what the show is so disconcertingly short of this year – great pop performers who entertain. I’m finding it hard to predict this year and I’m not confident (determined but not confident), partly because I’m new to X Factor betting but partly because the lineup and approach are so atypical. The overs are a uniform snoozefest (Kitty, Johnny and Sami beat “Who?”, “Who?” and “Who?” anyday), the girls are comparatively strong but totally different in tone to 2011 (last year’s top 2 girls were Misha and Amelia, both divas and strong pop performers, while this year’s top 2 look set to be Ella *doze* and Lucy *twang*). The same comparison applies roughly to Jahmene and James (yawn) vs. Marcus and Craig, and while Rylan (alongside Lucy) is one of the few contestants with the potential to add some much-needed levity to proceedings, I can’t see him performing anywhere near as professionally as Marcus did last year or clicking with a mainstream, cross-generational public as much. Moreover, the show would never let him win, they’d nobble him. GMTV are rubbish but they have that floppy-haired foetus look that teen girls go for (there was huge Twitter activity surrounding their appearance on Radio 1 this afternoon) so could be a dark horse, ditto the more professional but cobbled-together Union J (terrible name). WD40, erm, MK1 could also be a dark horse, but as others have pointed out, they face the huge obstacle of being a rap act. In short: I have no idea, but for now, I think Lucy ticks the most boxes – proven, broad online support, ordinary girl-next-door (she’s more “one of us” than almost any other X Factor contestant I can think of), and engaging and interesting in a sea of unduly earnest boredom. Yep, it’s ballads that win the show, but I’m not sure Ella has the wings to stay popular singing something slow and totes emosh every week between now and Christmas. If Lucy can pull some emotion out of the bag when needed, which I believe she’s more than capable of, she may well have it in the back of the net. That said, she’d be easy to nobble, though that in turn may lead to a sympathy backlash because people know what she’s capable of.
It doesn’t have to be someone for the win but anyone who unexpectedly sneaks into top3 can be a good back to lay option. Damn, I discarded Lucy in my prediction but she keeps coming back to my mind…and I took her @11 while now available @17.
MK1 may not feature towards the top of the vote but they will SELL RECORDS, so I can see them being saved in a couple of sing offs, if neccessary.
Completely agree. Regarding the wildcard (and again, I say this without having caught up yet), while I like Chris (I love an older man who enjoys a good shake), I think Amy will sail it. In terms of who watches the show and who votes, a camp 30-plus judderer with a good but imperfect voice singing musical and cruiseship fayre IMHO can’t stand up against a relateable, humble yet breezy Essex lass with a great, warm demeanor and voice. It’s a question of relevance: Maloney and his style of music aren’t relevant to an X Factor audience, Amy and her style are. As, incidentally, are Times Red, who I noticed were trending today. We’ve seen what Maloney has to offer, but I think people will still want to hear and see more from Amy and support her.
It’s going to be incredibly close between Shaky and Amy. I’m leaning towards Shaky but I can’t bring myself to back him at the price. There may potentially be value in Amy’s price, but I don’t believe she has receieved enough coverage to make it. Shaky has enjoyed 3 pimp slots and over 70% of app users wanted Shaky to go through instead of Melanie. Still, it won’t surprise me whichever one of them makes it. I am entirely discounting the other two.
Ella Henderson in this ‘ere race is the equivalent of Frankel running against a team of shire horses. I really don’t think she can possibly lose.
Interesting too, how in the montage at the end of the show, the producers managed to crowbar those ridiculous glasses off Master Arthur…ye, gods, there is not a single one of them in this competition with a sense of style.
In addition, could I just raise a hand in support of Melanie Masson. Yes, she may be a fruit loop, but her voice outstanding.
For me, her audition when she belted out that Janis Joplin song, was the highlight of the show so far.
Maybe I’ve not seen enough of this series but is Ella not worth laying at the current price? A lot can happen over the next few months. I’m thinking in terms of laying now and then backing at a later date should price drift.
For those backing James Arthur, you may be interested to hear the tweets that he put out about those that contribute to the DigitalSpy X Factor Forum. He has since deleted these tweets, but for those that missed them, here they are in his very own words:
1, Who are these people on the digital spy forums!?!? Do they have no idea that there nothing but negative lowlifes for even typing such shit!?
2,some of these fools don’t even realise how disgustingly ignorant and ridiculous there opinions are!! Get a life
3,I wouldn’t normally rise to it but I’m in genuine disbelief that these clowns dare to write the shit they write on there!
4,”they should be locked up for some of the shit they say about us lot”
5, Rarely do I go on shit like digital spy which is made for w*****s with no lives who wanna find out what’s happening on corrie next wk but..
6, When I do all I see is abuse!! I reckon they should shut that shit down!!
Source: http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1740607&page=5 Post #115
Judging from the comments left on the forum, he seems to have not only alienated people, but many are actually opting not to vote for him.
Whoa, attitude problem klaxon! Worra gobshite – unprofessional and subliterate. For the record, I’m going to lay him (I’ve already laid Jahmene). A boy will not win this year.
You know, it occurs to me that this might portend an “insecure Jesy” moment for James. Ill-advised as it was for him to let rip on Twitter, you can also imagine a powerful sympathy-inducing VT in which he chokes back tears as he reads out some unkind things people have said about him on Digital Spy, if producers are so inclined to grant him such a favour.
I saw these earlier… Good news for me (as an Ella backer) because I see James as one of the few credible threats. Confirms the ‘hint’ of self-importance several observers sensed emananting from Mr Arthur; and the divisive-argumentative quality which may well stand him in good stead in his later career but is fatal in a potential XF winner.
hoping a few more of these foot in mouth episodes will result in jahmene becoming the alpha male
I know this is a ‘serious’ forum and all, but my alpha male (from a fan’s perspective rather than a punter’s) is Rylan. Telling ‘G’ that his ‘blazer is love’ was a cultural highpoint of the year. And who can forget his thrilling face-off with Gaythan at Boot Camp?
The guy has heart, personality and enormous dedication to his ‘art’.
Oddly enough – far from being the joke/controversy this year, I think the public may take very kindly to Rylan Clark.
What price a match bet on Rylan vs. Spraggan?
I’d love to see it happen, but I can’t see JA buying it. He’s the hellraiser who ‘swags it out’, remember; not the lachrymose hissy-fit type. (Except in reality, of course.)
Naturally, the story’s featuring prominently on DS… but will probably be ignored, unless it’s taken up by other sources.
More breaking news:
‘X Factor hopeful James Arthur, who made it into Nicole Scherzinger’s Boys category at the weekend, is embracing his new celebrity status before the live shows have even begun.
During a night out at the weekend, he ditched his fellow contestants and was seen getting rather cosy with Chanelle McCleary from ITV’s dating show Take Me Out.
Arthur, 24, was apparently seen ‘snogging the face off’ the 20-year-old telly star as they partied at Whisky Mist, before they both disappeared in the early hours of the morning.’
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/913883-james-arthur-settles-into-x-factor-fame-as-he-woos-take-me-out-babe#ixzz28DwOtRiX