[Z]

Leon. Obviously Steve wasn't a success either but it was the very first series of the show so there weren't any expectations placed on him - his failures are only really seen retrospectively because he didn't reach the heights that Shayne Ward did the year later, or Leona the year after that... but then you have Leon. The precedents had been set for the winner by Shayne and Leona, so there was no excuse really. It's Syco's fault really - they had a young male winner, they ought to have known better than to push him down a jazzy route, or let him go down one if that's what he was pushing for... I don't think they really wanted him on their books so they let him quietly fail and let him go. I liked Hope in that series but to be honest it was full of no hopers, there wasn't a real pop act among the contestants. Then Alexandra Burke showed them all how it was done the following year... now there was a contestant who had it all together - great singer, great dancer, had a personality (as grating as it could be)... weird that she was just the following year after that frankly crap series where Leon won.