If I’d shut myself in a darkened room since Saturday afternoon, a Tamera vs Luke singoff would have seemed entirely unsurprising. Having watched the show, during which Luke drifted from 13/8 out to 10/1 for elimination after some heavy-duty pimping which saw him become second favourite for the win, it counted as quite a shock.
Before the show, I’d been confident that this singoff combination would result in Luke being ditched. The extent of pimping for Luke during the show, combined with the valedictory-sounding nature of the comments to Tamera, undermined that assumption. Still, I was surprised to see the latter trading at prices as high as 3.65 on Betfair during the singoff.
My initial reaction to Luke’s appearance in the bottom two was that it indicated the pimping had been intended merely to get him above Nicholas, rather than to the final – and that, this having failed to happen, producers might be tempted to give up on him and keep around the act who was namechecked last night as having the most commercial potential.
I was glad to see in the comments that I wasn’t alone, with Mark even wondering if Sharon had gone rogue in saving Luke. I’m not sure about that. It could just be that, as many speculated in the comments after last week’s show, they’ve decided Tamera is too risky to push further and were happy enough to have repaired her image in the public mind after the two weeks of botched songs.
Still, I had some winnings from having backed Tamera to be in the bottom two after Saturday’s show – the one take home message from the show that I was fairly confident in – and it was those winnings which I speculatively re-invested on Luke in the elimination market during the singoff. So I ended the week even, which I’m not too unhappy about after a confusing weekend.
What did you make of tonight’s result? Does keeping Luke signify that producers want to keep using him to split Nicholas’s vote? What do we make of the fact that Sam Bailey’s “cruiseship” line was shown twice again tonight, in the opening montage and reprise? Are we expecting a singoff in the semi-final? Do keep the conversation going below.
I still think the main aim of pimping Luke (and Rough Copy) was to get Tamera bottom of the vote to allow deadlock.
Where they go now I have no idea.
I think they will have a sing off next week and use this tactic to try and get rid Nicholas. I also expect them to do all they can to get him there aswell. I really thought he would be in bottom 2 tonight but am very happy that he is still in. I didn’t expect the regional vote to be this strong considering his mediocre performaces on saturdays show. I imagine Luke will get the pimp slot as this may push his votes above Nicks? Is the bounce from B2 effective this late in the competition?
Bring it on. They will be igniting the fire if they put nicholas on first again. They can’t do any more for luke than they already have. 2 bottom 2 appearances would leave them releasing its gonna take a miracle to get nick out of the top 2. Do we have conformation of this first ever semi final sing off?
How about giving him the pimp slot?
Not confirmed yet as far as im aware. I think they were waiting for tonights result before confirming it or not. Its the only way they can try and get rid of Nick – thats what im assuming anyway. Without the sing off then i think RC will poll bottom of the votes meaning a final of Luke, Nick and Sam. Luke taking a portion of Nicks votes splits it to some extent which clears the path for their plan A – Sam B.
Stoney, if Nick makes it to the final, do you think the regional vote will outweigh Sam Baileys? I cant see it happening myself but your thoughts would be good
Ok so if nicks only demographic was that he’s scottish then no I think sam wins. But it’s not as straight forward as that. Last night was a Definate sign of clear panick from the producers and the moment they announced him as opening the show again I posted on here that he must be topping the votes. That now looks even more plausible. I think they need to get luke to the Final to split the teen vote otherwise nik wins it. Also im fully in belief that nicholas picks up fans who like to stick it to the producers then he’s in with a good chance of winning. Hes basically a younger better looking more teen friendly version of maloney with a slightly stronger regional vote behind him.
if tptb go full on assault mode next week an nicholas picks
Ignore the bottom line of that. Typing on a phone
When he had pimp slot in week 6 singing Adele I was immediately under impression he topped that week. I really can’t see how he could top the vote last two week with such performances/slots. He is still my biggest green and I would love him to win but I doubt it.
Its Elton John and Beyonce week next week. I wonder what songs they will give him to aid them in his assassination!! If they give him 2 songs that totally don’t suit his vocal range again, surely TPTB’s intentions would be to obvious to him and his fan base?
I think myself it will be a Sam Bailey – Nicholas 1,2 in the final and that was probably the order they finished in last night (unless Nicholas’s vote is even bigger than we suspect).
I reckon SyCo have decided they want to sign Luke as well as Tamera now, and out of the two of them Luke needs to be in that extra week or two, whereas Tamera is probably better off out of the competition now. She’s stayed long enough that people aren’t going to forget her or consider her a flop, and now she can go away for a year or two before they re-launch her. 5th, 4th, 3rd, does it really matter?
I’m still not sure what to make of the judges’ voting in the sing-off. Louis and Sharon seemed to go overboard in insisting Luke should be saved and I’m not sure the shot of the judges squabbling at the end of the show was acting. I think TPTB got what they wanted in the end, but Louis and Sharon did seem to take improvising the script further than usual.
I think RC are in danger next week. Luke will bounce, they will come down and, even though producers are trying to deramp Nick, he might not be reachable. Sam is a lock for the final.
Did anyone else notice how pissed Louis was with Gary? The camera panned to the judges a couple of times and Louis seemed to be very annoyed indeed, right on Borelow’s face.
My husband (who does not know our theories) said that Gary, right after he sent it to dealock, was an arsehole and was just trying to keep Rough Copy safe next week as he considers Tamera the weakest link. Plausible. Either that or he just wanted to annoy Louis.
Luke may NOT bounce. No one in the final 5’s B2 has.
Olly? JLS?
That’s Final 6, hello.
I know, but I think it will be really close with Arsey who will definitely come down from their bounce. Could go either way but I have a feeling the blandness of the “best group ever on the XF” (definitely not my words) will bring them down. At least Luke has an identity and hasn’t been borelowed to death. And I sense Louis pleading for votes Tulisa way next week.
True. They had their chance to zoom up like JLS after their B2 appearance but failed.
I don’t know, I’ve never heard of an act coming 5th and doing well post-x factor.
She’s clearly not very popular with the public and they don’t seem to know how to present her on the show. She doesn’t seem to have a natural niche. I wouldn’t be sueprised if she disappears after the tour.
Rylan? (although not through singing, admittedly)
And Jedward were 6th.
Second week in a row I’ve had the B2 correct pre-show and had a change of view during the show.
Still had a small win from B2 and a result from Nicole losing all her acts first, but once again a bit of late hedging (panic) reduced the win.
Interesting to see the week 7 to 8 bounce held once more with RC as it has for the last few years.
The week 8 to 9 (last 4 in 2010) B2 survivor hasn’t had the same level of fortune.
2009: Danyl Johnson had 12.5% in W8 and jumped to 18.8% in W9 but lost out to Stacey on 19.4% and Olly on.
2010: Cher went from 11.57% to 15.83% but missed out to some long forgotten boy group.
2011: Misha had 20.2% in both weeks and missed out to Amelia who was 3rd that week on 21.4%.
2012: Union J went from 11.8% to 18.1%, missing out to Maloney who was on 18.7%.
I would bet rough copy were extremely close to luke in the voting
I didn’t say around this time last week that it would be a Luke/Tamera sing off. watching the live shows last night, I would’ve probably changed my mind, given Nic and Luke’s treatment.
what I don’t understand though Daniel, is why would it be risky to push Tamera and why get rid of her and keep Luke, when his bounce is more dangerous than anything to Their winner (Sam).
predictions for next week: is their a sing-off? if yes we’re likely to see Rough Copy with Luke..
They missed their target though. They thought that, after 8 weeks of praising Nic and building him a large fan base, they could get rid of him like that. its too late now, Nic has already enough support to get him to the finals. (a bit like Maloney last year)
true, but then again who, except from Sam B, RC and Nic, is? she still managed to survive 4 weeks after her first bottom 2 experience, unlike Luke
When the voting figures are released at the end of the series, this will be the week I’ll be looking at first. Until then we’re fishing in the dark about how much of this weekend was planned and how much was an accident.
I was happy to go in on Tamera in the sing-off, so also ended the weekend about even. Too many end of journey comments the previous night, and too risky to take forward. Gary spoke about her taking a year in the studio to develop as an artist (and learn some lyrics) so it did all seem planned.
Well done to those who called Nicole as first mentor out. My biggest lesson from last year: don’t overestimate a deceptively weak girls category, it’s rung true this year.
One lesson that does show from this week is that producer tricks count for less than the sympathy bounce. RC on the way up, Luke on the way down, and no amount of pimping could change that. Nicholas may well be headed to the final, there’s no guarantee that a sing-off would catch him next week. And if there is a sing-off it would mean a finalist who we know is bottom of the vote coming into the final – surely fatal?
He also told her she “had fun”. Hasn’t that been used elsewhere this series for targeted acts?
I LOL’d a bit when Louis was moving around when Luke was singing. It felt like a parent keen on reminding everyone that the kid is amazing.
My fuckin laptop just died on me in a middle of a long post (or at least long by my standards).
I was pretty sure of Tam landing b2 but played b2 combos with RC and Nic instead only her – never again. I was a victim of my own theory that Luke was safe enough with these performances. I guess Rob from entodds was right saying that his songs were not suitable for ITV Saturday public.
I bite the bullet in a sing-off, thought it has to go to deadlock with Tamera having lowest and got lucky to cover the losses and even get out positive tonight. It feels strange to be on the opposite side on bf Daniel.
Can Luke bounce next week is the question. Higher than RC – probably. Higher than Nic – no idea.
Btw last year some people thought they might introduce a semi sing-off to get rid of Maloney. He almost lost to UnionJ in the semi and was no threat in the final so there was no need for a sing-off at all. If they introduce it this year that would mean what?
Still testing the A&R theory, logic seems to have worked for the last two weeks at least.
So which of the 4 remaining acts would have their post show sales harmed the least by exclusion next week?
More legerdemain with the deadlock and visible loggerheads tonight, it isn’t as if the judges aren’t aware of the voting figures BEFORE the sing-off.
Gary only wanted to be SEEN to be voting for Tamara he knew deadlock was a lost cause for her, so why the faux anger from Louis?
Looks to me like every act except Sam B can be feasibly scuppered, Seems tptb have been working to keep their options open for as long as possible
Have they managed to bounce Luke to the final? If so it Rough Copy v Nick for the final spot? Still have not laid off my Rough Copy exposure! Is Sam the winner? Going to sit it out until Saturday, this could be far from over yet, not for the faint hearted though…
Well, this clarified that the apparent pimping of Luke yesterday was pretty much legit despite the heavy repetition of “busker.” I’m thinking that maybe his 1D cover sold really well, especially given the 1D music playing in both of his VTs this week. Perhaps TPTB are now seeing him as the “authentic guy with a guitar” add-on for their fans. Would not be at all surprised to see him as their opener and/or duetting with one of them on a track in a year, assuming he doesn’t give himself the munchies too often in the interim. That was a very good sing-off performance and he should at least make third next week ahead of RC.
They can’t put Nick on first again next week, obviously. Perhaps third with a Sam chaser if he almost went out this week, otherwise go ahead and give him a good slot so he can be put on first in the final. Interesting to see them turn on him a bit in the last couple of weeks. I think I will add “being interesting” and “having good stage presence” to “connecting” on my list of things that’s difficult to learn in the course of just a couple months.
I’d be shocked if RC avoided the B2 next week. Might they do a vote to try to save them into the final over Nick? I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea in a series in which the producers have managed to have a fairly light touch. Fourth is a fine enough launching position.
Agreed with commenters above that Tamera was too much of a risk to bounce into the final and screw up, and that 3rd vs. 5th probably wouldn’t make a huge difference to her at this point. Somebody will buy a lotto ticket on making her the next Rihanna, if not Syco.
Very possible there might be no sing off next week. After the Mary Byrne fiasco / stitch up, they are legally required to announce the format for the Sunday evening show before voting lines open on Saturday (failure to do so would constitute an attempt to mislead the public ie. fraud).
Given the comments made by Gary last night about Luke I genuinely don’t understand why he took it to Deadlock. Can someone explains please?
He was told to do that IMO, when he said I’m taking it to deadlock, dermot said I need a name of who your sending home, which was unexpected since saying he will take it to deadlock should be enough, Gary then looked startled like he had to think because he had made a mistake, and not said what producers told him.
I can’t really see the point of a sing-off next week, unless they either
(1) particularly want the fourth place act in the final. If a preferred act is 3rd, it’d be easy to eliminate the fourth placed act without a singoff.
(2) particularly want one of the b2 acts to win the whole thing. They can eliminate the other and the survivor has a good chance of bouncing to the win
If they do a singoff, at least one of RC and Luke (if not both) are likely to be b2. If Nick or Sam fall b2 with one of these it’d be hard to justify jettisoning them in a singoff, as RC and Luke have both already been b2. If they want rid of Nick he has to be bottom imho and then goes without a singoff.
I see RC being bottom and going without a singoff.
Smiled at Xtra Factor last night when Richard Osman said he has money on RC and Nicholas.
Having time to reflect on last night’s show, I was thinking how the girls category has been a disaster for the second (maybe even third) year in a row. If they want a female winner, TPTB will now have to settle for Sam B which I don’t believe was ever their intention. I’m a great believer in not judging people on their past, but considering the type of show this is you would think they would have done some checks on Tamera’s background.
They already knew the background, would you rather test the public reaction to a shady past BEFORE you had invested in producing an act or after?
Tamara told us that she sang F.T. E at her first ever talent show, the VT told you that she was 14. Week before you heard the story about the Butlins talent show she had won when she was 8 with Chico on the judges panel. She will have been on the A&R radar for quite some time. Everyone is on the lookout for the next Charice Pempengco.
When Tamara resurfaces such news will be old hat, job done.
Similar to the Jahmene debacle with the Whitney funeral song which wasn’t released until a year after the funeral he sang it at. Either a porky or Jahmene had access to a song which was pimped around the industry for 18 months before Whitney took it up. I favour the latter explanation. These acts don’t come in from the cold
Defraying the cost of A&R on the public is an extra dimension to the reasons for manipulating XF. Not only do you break the band out but you also have a much better idea of repertoire.
Note how any act which shared the projected ‘ Luke the musician’ demo got nerfed this year once they decided it was his optimum image.
Though I didn’t watch this week, I was very much of Richard’s mindset regarding the now-pressing need to ditch Tamera before the final, and reading here about her treatment on Saturday merely confirmed this. So I only had two bets this week, Tamera B2 and Tamera elim. Das Jackpot!
It would be much more interesting if Nic landed b2 instead of Luke…
I think maybe we’re looking at this all wrong because there are a (very) few things which seem fairly certain:
1. Sam B and Nick have been topping the vote fairly regularly (not entirely sure who is first/second)
2. The bottom two is a close run thing with possibly only a few votes separating the acts
With this in mind I think TPTB intended this week as the start of a de-ramp of Nick for the final. There was no way they were going to dent his vote SO much to get him below at least 2 of the 3 acts who had all previously been bottom two. Especially on St Andrew’s day weekend and with all of the patriotism and together-ness up here in Glasgow in light of the tragic events of Friday.
I think the pimping of Luke was intended to steal Nick votes to weaken him for final. Comparing the two, they gave Luke fairly cool, recent songs that guys/girls their age listen to (a fact that Nick has noticed judging by his comments about song choice on Xtra Factor) Not only people their age but certainly I (a 30yr old) preferred the songs Luke sung. Def makes him seem more current and interesting.
Add this to Sam B’s suitable song choices and generally positive treatment/comments and it definitely seems like they are trying to push her out in front whilst holding Nick back as much as possible.
Going to deadlock and thus saving Luke shows that they had no intention of ditching him as he is their best hope of stealing votes from Nick. However I think they hoped for an RC and Tamera bottom 2 (with the start of a comeback story/rise to the top for Luke) and probably Tamera would have gone anyway. As said before the bounce to next week isn’t as strong now and with the bottom two being so close they are probably pretty sure they can manipulate either RC or Luke into final next week.
I predict a final of Sam B, Nick and Luke with Luke helped along by TPTB and a slight bounce from this week and his exceptional sing off performance.
Although I have to say that this year from a producer point of view seems to have been a disaster and some part of me thinks they are just trying all sorts of tactics now just to see what would happen resulting in the confusing, non obvious shows lol!
It started going wrong as early as Single Ladies Shelley losing in Week 2. They had to quickly shoehorn the why-is-that-act-here role to Abi and Sam C, then have to deal with the Girls underachieving, then deal with Tamera choking. They may have gotten a desirable final five, but the path was rocky and now their golden girl is out.
I can’t believe Tamera drifted yesterday fir elimination. I thought she should have been odds on.
I might stick a few pounds on Nic to win it. He’s not been B2. He prob is polling 2nd but his odds are tasty.
No, it’s in the rules that you have to say “I’m sending X home”. They are stricter about this these days than they were at the beginning.
id forgotten about Jedward 🙂
So the question remains why Luke was pimped so much – to get to the final or to get above Nic or just to weaken Nic by damping his votes.
Whatever the reason was I can only see the continuation of Luke’s pimping and trying to maximize his bounce which makes RC toast (unless they get Nic to 3rd). The downside would be two boys in the final – is it a downside or not?
Any views on this?
My guess is that Nicholas dipped a lot in Week 7 (closing the gap between the two Boys) and they thought it was a good idea to have Luke zoom past him last weekend. Except the boost from him singing 1D in a nonthreatening way and it showed that Luke’s not yet ready to take Nicky down. It could have easily been Janet (Nicky) v Misha (Tamera) again but it wasn’t meant to be.
Then they did a lousy job since even RC ended higher than Luke. I’m now more interested what happens next week…
My view is that Luke’s pimping was to weaken Nick’s vote. Nick received a deramp in week 7 but it’s possible he was still too close to Sam for TPTB’s liking.
The most obvious part of this was Louis saying on Xtra Factor that Luke was way ahead of Nick. He later said the girls would prefer Luke to Nick.
The odd thing is, if this is the case, the moment Luke leaves the show, the votes will probably transfer back to Nick.
Does this mean they need to get of Nick first? This seems a bridge too far at the moment.
Do they push Luke to the final, where he finishes third, but splits the Saturday vote and therefore putting Nick far enough behind Sam for the Sunday vote not to turn things around?
Between Nick and Sam, Nick is still more likely to get the youth vote, who are more likely to be multi-voters. He also has the Scottish vote and at least some of the mum vote.
Of course, to allow a young, male Scot into the live shows at the tender age of only 16, and not deramp him until after he’s built up a large fan-base would be a massive oversight by the producers. 😉
I rarely take notice of the results show (outside the announcing of who’s safe, votes, etc.), but I noticed that Tamera was on the edge during the group song, while everyone else had at least a few seconds in the center.
Also, in Luke’s second song, he was on a plinth-of-sorts. According to a non-Sofabet viewing friend, he looked like he was part of an obscure cover band hired at a rich family’s garden party (thanks to the lights at the back and the homely vibe of the box thing he was in). The rich family and their guests watch the band, enjoy it, then go back to their normal lives. He also said that the staging was awful and the band should have been closer to him.
The benefit of getting a non-seasoned X Factor viewer’s opinion can’t be understated. It gives the clearest indication as to whether the manipulation by the producers is having the desired effect.
Most of us here watch the show through a very different lens than the majority of the general public, looking out for subliminal messages, plinths, colour vomit, lighting, staging, etc, which are often overlooked by the every day viewer.
Sometimes the easy answer is the right one!
My thoughts at this stage are.
Nicholas’s price is too big.
Sam’s price is too short.
According to the press SamBa is the “strongest favorite in history” in this stage and I agree that’s mad. However the amount of boys in the final could make a big difference. One boy only has a chance imo.
I was going to post this idea on Saturday, but I wasn’t sure about it. What if, last weekend, Nick polled much lower than average and Luke polled much higher than average. This would then make producers potentially think that Nick was in reaching distance and so, they tried to put Nick into the B2 at the expense of Luke this weekend.
It occurred to me that if Nick and Luke were indeed much closer in Week 7, that maybe TPTB underestimated the fact that Nick was shoved under the Dr. Who bus and forgot that Luke was, not only on a sympathy bounce but also singing a 1D song. If so, it could explain why they potentially thought Nick was reachable this previous weekend. However, with Luke coming down off a bounce, no longer singing a mainstream song and with viewing figures presumably waaaay back up, Nick comfortably escaped.
I agree with the consensus that saving Luke could be with a wider goal of splitting Nick’s vote in the final, paving the way for a Sam win. The big question is, though, are TPTB ready to lose Rough Copy?
If this assumption was true I dont see why they would panick and put nicholas in the death slot for the second week in a row. Surely they wouldn’t need to if they had him in range. That reeked of desperation. Be interesting to see what happens Saturday
Hi stoney,
Just reading your post and was reminded of a post of yours from yonks ago. I think you described having a substantial match bet on Nicholas to beat Tamera.
If that’s so – v well done, man.
🙂
I also had a treble on nicholas to beat tamera, sam callahan to beat miss dynamix and rough copy to beat abi. But there is still a long way to go before I’m happy with this series. It’s been a topsy turvey elimination weeks. I’ve been more heavily involved week to week and quite frankly wish I hadn’t been. Would have been sitting a lot more comfortably I had just stuck to my match bets. Having said that even though I would be quids in on a nicholas win, at this stage ill be happy enough with sam bailey 1st nicholas 2nd
Very, very nice betting. Didn’t know you could do trebles.
I’ve been rubbish at eliminations.
I too would be very happy with a Sam Bailey win, and Nicholas placed…
Hi Guildo,
If I may ask, what is the reason you don’t have a betfair account? Feel free to ignore my question for any reason you find it uncomfortable…
Don’t know really, Boki!
In my floaty mind, I seem to associate betfair with spread betting or with punters laying enormous sums, betting £1,000 to win £1 (and losing in freak circumstances).
I don’t bet beyond my means and I seem to hold an almost superstition-based worry that bf will be the first step along the road to the poorhouse for me!
Next, I’ll be opining that policeman seem so young nowadays…
Fair enough Guildo. Just was curious because I think it’s a pity you don’t have a lay button at your disposal given the fact you like value bets with big odds.
Also according to the press there will definatley be a sing off on sunday. I take it that TPTB have a hope that they can get Nick there and get shot of him. I cant see any other reason as to why they would do this? http://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/the-x-factor/168473-x-factor-2013-semi-final-to-have-elton-john-v-beyonce-theme.html
They must be pretty confident they can get Nic into the bottom 2. It will probably be him and Rough Copy in the bottom and Gary and Nicole will vote against Nic. Sharon will then have the choice of either taking it to deadlock or sending Nic home depending on who’s bottom. The only thing that could scupper their plans is if Nic fans catch on to this unprecedented sing-off and rally to vote for him. A Luke v Rough Copy sing-off would be interesting.
On a side note, I’m surprised they haven’t had a semi-final sing-off before. X-Factor Australia has had it for the last two years and its clearly been each time to ensure they have a “balanced” final.
I’m prettyu certain there will be a sing off. I think they done it before when they wanted Cher in the final in 2010 (that year they had 4 acts in the final i believe. Correct me if im wrong). They had a sing off to get rid of Tesco Mary as she was dangerously close in the voting to 1D. Their plans worked for them then. Song choice is key for Nicholas this week. If he gets songs that don’t do his voice justice then I envisage a bottom 2 between him and Rough copy. I hope i’m wrong though!!
thats not quite true, this year they could have saved the brilliant mixed group they had and place them in the final but ended up deadlocking (and it was clear whoom that would favour) and had 2 boys in the final and an over.
“ITV say that…” – they rely on the same ITV press article, I guess tmix knows as much as we do.
Dare I say that the value bet this week is Nic to be eliminated (at current odds of reward of 9/2)?
It’s turning into an expensive catchphrase for me…!
Or possibly the value bet is to dutch Nic at 9/2 with RC at 11/10?
Tbtb are a bunch of crafty swines. As has been mentioned history shows that frequently whoever is saved from week 8 is bottom in week 9. So that would be Luke coming bottom this week. With a sing off now introduced means they are desperate to ensure Luke doesn’t go.
Saving him over rough copy splis the vote with Luke in the final meaning a Sam win.
Saving him over Nic means her biggest threat is eliminated meaning a Sam win.
Interesting weekend coming up!
2 x SPARE TICKETS FOR SATURDAY’S SHOW.
At the thought of having to queue outside the X Factor studios in Wembley on Saturday for approx. 6 hours, the friends that had originally planned to come with me, have now dropped out.
This means that I now have two spare tickets for the recording of this week’s Saturday night show. If you are interested in attending, can get to Wembley for approx. 12pm, and don’t mind queuing for a long time…. please comment on this post.
Trying to see through TBPT eyes for this coming 9th elimination. Assuming SamBa won’t be b2, the 3 possible b2 combinations (imo’s descending order of probability) are:
1 – Luke doesn’t bounce enough to be out of the b2 and is joined by RC, who are more of an Amelia/Cher than a James/Olly/JLS imo in terms of the week 7 saved act’s bounce. I used to think that RC would be preferred over Luke, but I’m starting to think that coming 4th might be considered enough for them in order to get Luke in the final and dampen Nicholas’ vote. So RC OUT.
2 – Luke bounces enough to be out of the b2 and so the b2 is Nicholas Vs RC. No doubt in my mind here. Nicholas OUT.
3 – RC prove that week 7 saved act’s bounce is a true force of nature and continue their bounce out of the b2, so the 2 boys are b2. No doubt in my mind here again. It’s a Misha Vs Janet all over again (i.e. saved for the 3rd time against an undesirable act who has just hit the b2 for the 1st time). Nicholas OUT.
So our we reaching a scenario in which Luke is always safe??
I can imagine Luke v RC to be Deadlock. No use flogging a dead horse if Luke doesn’t bounce too far and RC falls down.
I basically agree with this, potential problem is that everything is based on the assumption they want Luke in the final but they can easily change their mind from week to week.
Why does everyone assume Luke and Nic share voting demographic at all? They are so different in style and music. Luke has the pretty face and he vibe for younger audience, I would think if he shares voters with anyone it would be rather RC than Nic. Nic is, as someone already said a younger and better Maloney with a better regional background… and if he would share votes with anyone that is Sam rather than Luke. I dont think it makes much of a difference to hae Luke or RC in the final, they wouldnt grab differently from Nics support.
The way they push Sam with both hands and put the brake on Nic would say last weeks were won by Nic but Sam is the only one pulling close to him, the others were,are hopeless for the win. And for the franchise Sam win is surely preferred over NIc.
Nicholas has a very strong teen following, from what I see on Twitter. He passed Sam C as follower king on Week 7 Saturday (although Luke overtook him Week 8 Sunday). Someone on DS does an algo thing that generates a social media score (normalised so that good comments weigh more than bad ones) and Nicholas is consistently on top.
wow. really unexpected.
Annie, they seemed to have been pushing for that idea of ‘Luke has overtaken Nicholas’ the previous weekend, so even if they don’t share a demographic it seems that TPTB believe they do and might act accordingly, e.g. by saving Luke in a sing-off with RC.