We’ve only got one room audition show left (this Saturday), which usually involves just a few scrag ends for live show contenders. That means we’ve probably seen the winner already, though if we have it’s not obvious: Caitlyn Vanbeck and Matt Terry currently battle it out at the head of the betting market.
We’ve seen less blatant favouritism at this stage than in recent years. All the signs so far are that the priority has been putting on a good show and getting good ratings. In that they seem to have succeeded. Up till now it’s felt more like a classic X Factor season, with natural chemistry between the judges, and Dermot reliably steering the helm. The result: over 10 million viewers for Saturday’s show once catch up figures were added; a two-year high.
Saturday’s show was bookended by some comedy characters, meaning yet another pimp slot given over to entertainment rather than any potential Plan A – the guessing game there continues. Our first serious singer was Gifty Louise, 20, from Kingston-Upon-Thames, who is rumoured to be one of the girls at judges’ houses. We heard how she lost her voice at bootcamp last year, though not whether she received a medical check-up: did anyone look a hoarse Gifty in the mouth?
With excuses firmly established for last year’s rejection, Gifty returned with a strong look and soulful rendition of Mary J Blige’s ‘No More Drama’. Her image and voice were praised. Simon’s responses included “very good”, “great energy”, “someone to watch” and “good audition.” He reiterated this after she’d left by saying: “We’ve actually found someone good.”
It was one of those solid, understated, not-too-long auditions without any massive sob story that could either portend something promising, or judges’ houses fodder. She looks and sounds commerical, and showed the requisite humility in accepting praise that has historically seemed necessary for young women of colour to get the voting public on their side in these shows.
Next up were Girl Next Door from Manchester, who divided the judges after a solid enough performance of Usher’s ‘Yeah!’. They are not among the final six groups rumoured for judges houses, whereas two other girlbands – 4 of Diamonds and Skarl3t – are supposed to be. That leaves them hoping for a wildcard, and suggests they are not high enough up the pecking order.
5am are in the rumoured final six groups. The threesome from Brighton, Leicester and East London comprise a casino worker, actor and street dance teacher. They explained they love Motown and R&B, and like to dance and sing. They had met through the solo circuit, which wasn’t quite working for them individually. There seemed like a non-forced, easy chemistry between the trio, who were likeable and unthreatening in a JLS-type way.
They danced and sang in a polished way to Drake’s ‘One Dance’. The judges were generally very positive, with Nicole being the one to slightly qualify her praise for their “energy” and “vibe” by saying “but I don’t want the dancing to take away from the harmonies.” Cowell seemed very keen. “Po-ten-tial. I mean it… I genuinely believe the next big boyband is going to be one that can dance.”
Crazy father-daughter duo Kayleigh and Stefan did Bohemian Rhapsody, then we had a marriage proposal between the He Knows She Knows pair. Both segments felt like they were all about the audition, rather than setting them up for a long journey. The same can be said of Saturday’s final act, Beck Martin, whose song ‘Friday Night’ got everyone up and dancing; and of Sunday’s first act, Faye Horne, with her flirting with Simon.
The Brooks’ return had been much anticipated among our commenters, the pair having got to judges’ houses two years ago when aged only 15 and featured in media reports of favouritism complaints this year over links to Sinitta. Their VT promised an improved image and vocals this time around, with a supportive Nan and a point to prove.
Josh whipped out a guitar for their performance of ‘Runnin’. It wasn’t any more of a pimping than 5am, and it’s interesting to wonder what direction they take these boys in. They have classic boyband looks, but seemed to be striving for more credibility with their song choice and the guitar. Simon and Louis emphasised their improvement. Sharon liked their harmonies. Simon suggested the credible route was their path when he concluded: “To really do what you wanna do, you’ve got a lot of work to do. You’ve got to develop your own sound. Less sometimes is more.”
Antonio Mirat, 32, a Croatian opera singer, is yet another possibility for the overs comedy wildcard slot. She was followed by Ivy Grace Paredes, who is one of the overs at judges’ houses. From the Philippines, she had been inspired enough by Fourth Impact’s impact to leave her two-year-old daughter with grandparents back home to come to audition. She initially ad-libbed too far from the beat of Whitney’s ‘All The Man That I Need’, though showed a powerful voice in the process.
The judges were very impressed, Simon in particular: “More than amazing… incredible, one of the best we’ve had.” Louis called her a “little diva”. She exited to ‘Halo’, promising to do it for her daughter. So the question is, would the show have an act from the Philippines for the second year in a row, and if so, when will they send her off for the fatal embassy visit VT?
20-year-old Aeron Smith had classic boyband looks, and gave a throaty performance of ‘Heaven’. He’s not rumoured to be among the boys at judges’ houses.
Olivia Garcia, 16, from Wigan, had striking pop star looks – I’m showing my love of early noughties pop here, she seemed to me like a cross between Jenny Frost and Mandy Moore. She has a pet turtle called Bubbly, and was inspired by Leona’s win when she was 6. Assorted proud family were present, but it wasn’t promising that there had been no filming at home.
She sang Alicia Keys’ ‘Empire State of Mind’, which occasionally was too big for her promising voice (she usually only managed “New Yaw” in the chorus). The judges pointed this out, Nicole wishing she had done a different song despite her having a “really big voice for just 16”. Louis said “you look like the perfect pop star”; Simon added “one to watch”. She is reputed to be in the final six girls at judges houses, but there was less investment here than for some of her rivals in that category so far. Her journey will need to build from this point if she’s to be a stealthy contender for the lives.
The final act of the weekend was the feelgood story of Anelisa Lamola’s return from rejection at the age of 16 in the 2007 bootcamp. She’s been trying to make it since then, doing free gigs while working. She belted out ‘Natural Woman’ with an enthusiastic response from the panel. Simon called hers “an amazing recording voice”; Nicole said it was “soulful” and “classic” and even the “best voice in entire competition so far.” Unfortunately, she’s not among the rumoured overs at judges’ houses, and faces a lot of competition for the wildcard, which we continue to guess will go to a comedy act.
With one audition show left, there are still a few we haven’t seen from the rumoured pre-wildcard judges’ houses: one girl (Soheila Clifford); one boy (Nate Simpson); three overs (Samantha Atkinson, Christopher Peyton and Relley C, who has featured on the show before); and two groups (4 of Diamonds and Skarl3t). That doesn’t bode particularly well for their chances on past evidence, as producers have historically tended to deal their strongest cards early in the auditions process, but we’ll still be watching closely.
Then there’s a bumper single bootcamp episode on Sunday, ahead of the six-chair challenge the following weekend. As well as the obligatory heart-rending farewells to a few auditionees who’ve had enough screentime to make the casual viewer surprised by their departures, the bootcamp episode offers producers a chance to advance the narrative of their favoured acts. Hopefully this will give us more of a clue of who Plan A might be this year.
On which question, before we close for this week let’s round up the rumours and assess the lie of the land.
Discussion in the Sofabet comments and movements in the Betfair market point towards the final three boys being Matt Terry, Freddy Parker and the presumably-wildcarded Ryan Lawrie. Commenters also expect The Brooks and Cosmic Riot (Bradley and Ottavio) in the lives, with some confusion about whether the third slot is occupied by 4 of Diamonds or 5am.
These remain only rumours – but if true, they would invite a couple of observations. When the show is investing in a boyband, it tends to make sure the boys category doesn’t have too much competition in terms of pretty faces – and that wouldn’t be the case if it’s Freddy, Matt and Ryan. And if they’re joined by The Brooks and possibly also 5am, that would imply a lot of early vote-splitting among the female demographic.
So does that point to a girl as Plan A, and who? Caitlyn Vanbeck and rumoured wildcard Samantha Lavery are both fairly similar to last year’s winner; would they want another Louisa? But it can’t be ignored that both got the coveted first-audition-show introduction. Emily Middlemas, introduced in the second show, offers more variety, and the Ryan rumour is interesting given that the pair have reportedly hooked up – are producers hoping for some tabloid value? Or do they have big plans for Kayleigh Morgan, Gifty Louise or someone else?
We should, of course, also consider the possibility that the difficulty identifying this year’s Plan A suggests that Plan A is simply to put on a show that’s good for ratings, ease off the manipulations and let the votes fall as they may. But producers wouldn’t do that to us… would they? As ever, please keep the conversation going below.
Photos via ©ITV / @ThePixelFactor
Nice to see you channelling your inner Louis Walsh, Daniel. If Olivia ever did see this article, I hope she would take “you remind me of a young Jenny Frost” as the highest of all compliments.
Personally I’d put her at the bottom of the pile of girls rumoured through to JH (who we’ve seen so far). Her voice was pitchy, song choice poor and diction unclear. A bit too rough around the edges. I think her treatment has been lesser of the other girls, too. Her comments were a bit “you have no identity” – with the girls category, I think that can be very harmful. Girls tend to either need a big, belter of a voice (Louisa, Lauren Murray, Leona) or be quirky/individual (Diana Vickers, Cher Lloyd, Janet Devlin) to do well. Unforunately I don’t see Olivia (or Caitlyn or Kayleigh, for that matter) as posessing either of those qualities. To me, they all seem more Lola Saunders than Louisa Johnson.
The last point about Plan A being ratings seems the most likely. Obviously that can all change after bootcamp – I don’t think TPTB can resist meddling, and surely once live shows roll around they will be up to their old tricks. Until then, I’m enjoying the fun and games.
DSF have directed me to this tweet:
https://twitter.com/OttavioBradley/status/776033171162947585
Suggesting Cosmic Riot have been kicked off the show. Not sure that we can take it seriously but yet another thing to keep us guessing.
To add to what you’re saying about it being unlikely they want a boyband to win this year – this article says Syco are already launching a new boyband this year “purportedly modelled on *NSYNC” – so if they ditch 5am I wouldn’t be surprised.
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/have-we-witnessed-the-death-of-boybands
If they’re going to have a plan A I think it’ll be one of the solo boys. They’ve not chosen three young cute ones for nothing. And there’s a gap in the market for a British Bieber.
Great tip, I didn’t know about the new boyband or Citizen Four with old USXF contestant Josh Levi. While this is bad news for The Brooks, surely 5AM would be in a different lane halfway to something like WSTRN though? I agree that a boy may be plan A for the year in any event as Syco is loaded up on female soloists at the moment, and giving the groups to Louis likely indicates relatively limited aspirations.
I think a young cute boy makes perfect sense as plan A during a ‘classic’ series.
Wouldn’t The Brooks be presented as two Biebers in one act?
Agree! I don’t even see them as a “boyband” .. If they really want a current young good looking bieber type act to win nothing better than them
So Megan Mckenna just said The Brooks are like two Biebers on Xtra Factor. Settles it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to push Louis over the line this year to try and make him slighly ‘relevant’ again considering they’ve had to resort to asking him back… for a second time. Saying that, boybands have been a hard sell on this show.
Yes I forgot about The Brooks. What I was really saying was that they don’t need a traditional boyband in the mix this year because they are already launching one.
Cosmic riot got kicked off ? For what ?
No idea – that link is the only evidence I can find to suggest that it’s true. It could well be an in-joke, who knows.
Let’s have a bit of appreciation for “did anyone look a hoarse Gifty in the mouth?”
Recurring rumours on ds that Ivy Grace couldn’t get a visa to JH so is out.
Judging by show spoilers for tonight, we will see: Sohelia Clifford from the girls, Nate Simpson of the boys, Samantha Atkinson and Christopher Peyton from the overs and Four of Diamonds from the groups. That leaves just Relley C from the overs (who I understand is another returnee) and Skarl3t from the groups unseen prior to bootcamp.
Is Skarl3t formed at bc?
https://twitter.com/OfficialSkarl3t
No they weren’t
So did comic riot get kicked off?
Oh Sohelia’s got hate figure for the lives written all over her…
Stitched up to the max but she’s not getting through imo.
Certainly sending her home isn’t going to result in many tears being shed!
If I’m right we’re now just left with Samantha Atkinson and… if they weren’t put together at Boot Camp… Skarl3t to come from the Judges Houses posse.
But maximum hubris will result from her getting a roasting about the vocals at boot camp or tears at 6 chairs. The audience wants to imagine her parents rending their garments and beating their breasts as they realise that they should have bought a full size snooker table and a boat.
I saw the short version on Youtube: there’s a longer version that’s even more drawn out? Youtube has about 2 minutes.
Her audition really was the producers flexing their muscles. The actual content of it – the song and the voice and the girl herself – could have been interpreted in a completely different way if it wasn’t padded around with the fluff, sarcasm, and critical views. I bet she won’t be happy if she gets a chance to watch the televised version!
The stitch up was brutal though. It was like when the Daily Mail prints pictures of a clebrity with a bit of a belly in a swimsuit and captions them with “flaunting washboard abs”. The negative comments tend to attack the subject rather than the author.
Just seen poor Sohelia’s segment. If I were casting this year I’d put her through to the lives without hesitation – she’s exactly what the show needs, although I’m certain that she will wish she never auditioned by the time the show is finished with her. Fudd makes a good point that nobody will be particularly emotional about her not making it through, and they went to a lot of trouble to edit in archive footage of her as a child before she performed. I’m expecting her at the live shows.
Even when the show is generally lighthearted it served as a good reminder that the producers can turn the screw when required.
Good point Gav re Brooks and Xtra Factor. I reckon
1/ a producer read that here,
2/ told the clueless hireling Megan to say it.
3/ They sang live on the show. I reckon we may have a TCO.
I think they are TCO in terms of post-show career. As history shows, that doesn’t always end with a win.
The Sun confirms Ivy Grace had to withdraw from the show due to a visa issue:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/1802775/x-factor-favourite-ivy-grace-paredes-forced-to-quit-the-show-after-failed-visa-application/
Which means we will presumably have both a wildcard and a returnee to the Girls Judges Houses. Dermot spoke on The Xtra Factor tonight and confirmed that they’re just about to film it… quite close to tranmission date considering it’s presumably going to air on 1st/2nd October.
I don’t see how it changes anything. They originally had 6 girls to chose from plus any wildcards. Ivy not going to JH meant they had 5 plus any wildcards. That’s enough to chose 3 from.
I think they filmed it yesterday. But it seems Cowell hasn’t decided yet so they still need to film the decisions at least.
Taking 1 away from 6 still allows them to chose 3 from 5 (plus any wildcards), no problem.
Ivy was an Over. The Girls I believe was filmed yesterday but no decisions yet so they at least have still to film the reveal.
It all seemed a bit rushed last night…not a lot of screen time for Four of Diamonds and none at all for Skarl3tt or Relley C. Interestingly in the boot camp montage, a lot of coverage of Gifty and Cosmic Riot (Bradley and Ottavio). Probable finalists then.
Agree with Fudd above also. Sohelia is this years’ Katie Waissel hate figure.
It was a really rushed show last night. The whole first part had no connection or link between acts as they usually do, it just felt like the leftovers of acts that we probably should have seen earlier. The rest of the show was pretty off too – I don’t know why they didn’t just trim some of the fat off of previous shows and split boot camp into two shows this weekend.
I can’t wait to read the write up for the Boot Camp episode. It’s interesting, when considering the Judge’s Houses choices, where this is going.
From the Girls Gifty, Caitlyn and Kayleigh were given exposure whereas Sohelia, Olivia and Emily were missed out entirely. But Kayleigh’s storyline revolved more around Skarl3t that herself – indeed she was told she could do better. I sense she’ll be the emotional departure over one of the others. Out of them I’d say Gifty and Caitlyn look like live show contestants but the third place is less clear. After her edit yesterday I’m leaning towards Sohelia.
As for the Boys – Matt and Niall were praised after their performances, Christian’s sob story got another exposure (with him shoehorning ‘brother’ into a song which doesn’t mention a brother) while Freddie has just been exposed on The Xtra Factor for writing the lyrics on his hand. Not that anyone is watching the spin off. I can’t recall either James or Nate making an appearance. Ryan (rumoured wildcard) at least popped up and did a decent job. I think Niall might be another surprise departure as the producers won’t want to risk another Janet Devlin especially, due to being a male, they may find it harder to drag him down. Matt and Christian look likely for the lives now… the third place looks up for grabs.
Onto the Overs – Samantha and Peyton really sold themselves well as did Ivy and Janet whilst James got cold feet, ran back to the hotel, got a let off from Simon for being ‘human’ and put in another praised performance. Relley C hasn’t made an appearance yet and surely her card is marked because of that? Unless she’s the Gamma and they’re strangling her at birth – I can’t help remembering 2013 where Shelley and Lorna were dismissed as swiftly as possible with Joe Whelan not even put through to ease Sam’s path. James as Joe; Relley as Lorna; Honey G (rumoured wildcard) as Shelley? And if that’s the case who is Sam Bailey – Samantha? I think she’s looking the most likely live show contestant but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a shock boot either.
The Groups were the most intriguing – we finally got to see Skarl3t though not in the most flattering of lights. That wasn’t exactly an example of how to win friends and influence people. 5am got a passing shot which is better than The Brooks, who appear to be shoehorned into every Xtra Factor episode to compensate. The fact they haven’t gone all Mason Noise on the spin off and question their lack of appearance in the edit surely speak volumes. He Knows She Knows appear to have a growth story with Simon coming round to Laura’s voice but it feels very quick if they have long term plans for them. 4 of Diamonds were conspcious by their absence. Cosmic Riot destroyed their song and were put through seemingly at the behest of Louis. Louis is now their mentor. Altogether now, two plus two is four…
For whatever it’s worth rumors on DS before the bootcamp episode had Relley getting into it with the show over something and wanting to be cut as much as possible, which apparently the show was happy to oblige.
Agreed with the rest of this. At the moment I’m seeing Matt as the (loose) plan A but would not be surprised to see the show taking flyers on Caitlyn, Gifty, and perhaps 5AM and/or The Brooks as well. Samantha and Peyton are strong looking overs and both making the lives would suggest that ratings and a sense of fair play are paramount over ensuring the most commercial winner. Cosmic Riot are obviously there as the novelty, some things never change and the producers still couldn’t resist the usual storyline during the bootcamp photo picking session.
I saw several boys who seemed to be attractive enough to meet boyband standards in various groups along with solos like Aeron. I would be wondering why there was no attempted 1D this year if not for the revelation that Syco is already working on a US group.
‘would suggest that ratings and a sense of fair play are paramount over ensuring the most commercial winner’
Agree this is what the early stages of this series are trying to project atm, will be interesting to see what happens when we get to lives.
With 10 live shows this year there is no need for the full on pimping of Plan A from day one like they did last year. I dont think TPTB will be able to stop themselves meddling when it comes to the lives. Its in the DNA. And Cowell needs to create stars from these shows to keep him living the lifestyle he’s become accustomed to. I really cant see a sense of fair play getting a look in when push comes to shove.
Although would they go for a second Matt winning? – it might remind the public of Matt Cardle and stir up controversy.
He didn’t shoehorn “brother” into “7 Years”, it was always there.
I read through the lyrics on Saturday night before posting and I somehow missed ‘brother’. I’m sorry about that.
I think James Wilson could do well if he makes the finals
A few oddments tonight’s episode – The Brooks not being featured was the biggest surprise to me (Apart from them wanging on about the dolls dress in a cutaway).
Caitlyn has either created a brand for herself where she only ever wears camouflage, or she is being styled ala Lola Saunders already. She opened the show and got a fair edit. Seems promising.
Poor Relley C was shown, but not singing! Hilarious really.
Tonight has cleared nothing up – again, it all seems based around entertainment rather than pushing any specific acts. Interestingly, we were shown Ryan Lawrie being sent home tonight and he has been lamenting on Twitter about his journey coming to an end. On Xtra Factor they just featured him in the line up of boys who will be singing at Six Chair Challenge. Somebody dropped a continuity bollock, I expect.
I thought the wildcards were picked from those who were sent home from the Judges House stage? Ryan seems to be more tuned in to the story he needs to tell than the editors.
So, with the awful treatment/non-treatment of Relley C and the alleged (key word) gig dates of Saara in October, do we still think the spoiler of Honey G, Saara & Relley C is true? I only believe Honey G tbh. I always felt she would somehow make it. And in the unlikely, shocking and incomprehensible scenario where that spoiler is true, Honey G would be Sharon’s alpha over lololololol, she would surely last longer than the other 2.
Surely that isn’t true regarding those three being the final overs top 3?! Obviously this is dependent on the spoilers regarding who is through to judges houses being correct, neither Honey G or Saara were there. There is an allowance for one of them being the wild card, but are we now also to believe that Saara was drafted in as a replacement for Ivy (who is rumoured to have been unable to travel to America for JH) and both of them got through?!
Even outside of that, it seems unlikely. We were told repeatedly on Sunday night’s show that the overs was the strongest category. It seems unlikely that, if that were the case and the show was happy to make sure we were aware of this, that they would undermine that by putting through two acts who were at best, Sharon’s 7th and 8th favourite acts in the category, and one of them being an unfunny novelty act. And the one she did choose going through with absolutely zero screen time prior to the six chair challenge.
It would be baffling, but the example above about 2013 is a good one. Nothing surprises me with X Factor anymore.
That was quite a strange weekend of TV. The whole Ryan Lawrie thing is bizarre in light of the fact it looks like he’ll be brought back in as a ‘we made a mistake’ storyline at 6 chairs and then, if rumours are true, as wildcard at JH.
The group spoilers about Cosmic Riot (on xtra factor again!), 5AM and The brooks through look more likely due to the treatment of Skarl3t and absence of 4 of diamonds but god knows what’s going on with the overs.
The only thing I can liken the Ryan Lawrie instance to (at the moment) is when Overload were bought back as a wildcard in 2014 despite not being at judges houses. As the wildcards this year are being bought back a round early for judges houses, this may make sense if the judge who chooses wasn’t impressed with their SCC but if there were any long term plans, I would have thought we’d see some agonising from the judges about whether or not to send him home.
That’s if the spoiler about Ryan being in the top three is even true. Based on the mixed messages we’re getting, I;m reluctant to beleive any of them.
Yep, Overload is nearest comparison. But what makes this more strange is that he is apparently brought back twice, both at SCC & JH- why do it repeatedly? Once makes a good storyline, twice just makes it seem like they don’t really think he’s good enough to be there. Seems to support idea Matt T is alpha boy anyway.
Unless (like Overload), he skips a round. Perhaps he gets missed out at SCC and bought back as a wildcard for judges houses. Although he was billed as through to SCC on Xtra last night so who the hell knows. Ultimately you are correct – it’s hardly a glowing reference for him to go through to live shows having been sent home twice in the same series already.
No idea if true, but interesting rumour about Ryan on DS: ‘Ryan Lawrie sent home tonight, he was then added to a band that was then scrapped and was put through on his own. The band included two members of exposure (shown tonight getting sent home) and two members of All Regions (shown during Caitlin’s audition) there was a fight between Simon and producers and in the end they ditched the whole project’
If we consider Overload’s role in 2014 it was simply to make Stereo Kicks look even better as a comparison. So could Ryan’s role be to make look good and they’ll try and execute it better than they did a couple of years ago? After all they made it work with Lauren v Louisa a year ago.
Ryan also has the Scottish vote to his advantage. It may be some sort of overblown attempt to give him a journey and stir up a sympathy vote.
Alternatively, it could just be a load of noise from Digital Spy whose spoilers this year seem to be in a bit of a mess. I’m not sure we can put much stock in anything we are hearing from there.
Any thoughts on if gender balance matters at all? The groups seem very male dominated this year, and might mean they need at least 2 women in the overs to balance it out?
I’m kind of slow this year, why the betfair drift on Caitlyn?
Matt Terry has come in heavily on bet fair since Friday – 6’s to 3’s and now clear favourite
From what we’ve seen so far and seeing the confirmed final 12 i think the last thing producers want this year is a “predictable winner”, hence why i think Matt won’t win !
The rumoured final 12 is as follows:
Here are the final 12 going to lives
Girls-
Emily Middelmas
Samantha Lavery
Gifty Louise
Overs-
Rielly C
Honey G
Sara Alto
Boys-
Matt Terry
Freddy Parker
Ryan Lawrie
Groups-
5am
The Brooks
Cosmic Riot
Caitlin drifting out in the odds seems to reflect that she didn’t make it. What about odds for the others?
What’s the source for these? Is it someone credible or just shitposting on Digital Spy?
It’s come from a few people on digitalspy. The spoilers this year are inconsistent to say the least, but it may marry up with the shift in odds. I’m reluctant to make any financial decisions based on them.
I can confirm the final 12 is 100% true!
How do you know?
If that final 12 is accurate, it seems they couldn’t resist cutting several strong voices with limited commercial potential, like always. It’ll be interesting to see if they can manage to maintain a sense of fair play with the public after judges’ houses.
Reilly C is random if so. Surely she must be the gamma considering her lack of appearance so far and yet, if the spoilers are true, then the Overs are made up by a late replacement after the Six Chair Challenge, a wildcard and someone who, up to the 6CC, we haven’t heard sing yet. The category’s being strangled pre-lives.
It’s probably all bollocks though.
I’m leaning towards this. The other categories I can make sense of but what makes no sense to me is that we were shown on sunday Simon saying that the overs is the strongest category. If the producers are happy for viewers to believe that, and those spoilers are true, why kneecap them so badly? I’m embarrassed for posting those spoilers here.
I’m inclined to agree the spoilers look very dodgy, particularly for the Overs. But trying to consider what might have happened IF this is true…
I’m trying to think when the Overs House was filmed. They spoke to Dermot via phone on The Xtra Factor last Saturday and he said he’d finished filming the Overs and was travelling to film the Girls House, which means the final three hadn’t been locked down when Boot Camp aired.
Because of that if they switched choices based on Judges Houses, a la Fleur East, then the Girls would be the ones which could stand out as strange picks. But it’s the Overs (except for the disappearance of Caitlyn from the ‘top three’).
Saying that, Dermot didn’t specify how long it had been since he finished filming the overs. Could it be that they didn’t leave themselves enough time to edit the final audition show/Boot Camp to fit the sudden agenda?
The groups look like educated guesses based on what we’ve seen so far, perhaps the boys as well. But Honey G over Christopher Peyton??? Really? On the screentime given so far and all of the praise, it’d be an absolute shocker if Caitlyn Vanbeck didn’t get through to the lives. I guess we’ll know by 2nd October.
Caitlyn is quite similar to Louisa Johnson though and Cowell might not want the associations with last season. Plus Caitlyn will be one of the few people they’ve built up enough for an emotional cut at JH.