[BusyBee]

I see from the official site that this week there will not have to be any 'soul searching' if Simon's are in the bottom two because the public vote will count for who has to go. About time too, cos I think the judge's have not been best placed to choose.

It also seems Simon has been winding Sharon up by saying that her burglary was 'good publicity'. How crass. Fur will be flying on Saturday!!

[Kaz]

These are the songs for tonight's show:

Rowetta
When You Tell Me that You Love Me
River Deep Mountain High

G4
Somebody To Love
You'll Never Walk Alone

Steve
Sweetest Feeling
Turn Back The Hands Of Time

Tabby
Living On A Prayer
More Than Words


Who do I want to win? Couldn't care less.

I'll be watching Celebrity Come Dancing!

[bananarama]

So Rowetta the only one with any "X" factor has gone. What is left......G4 a confused bunch of off the wall barber shop singers. Steve who I wouild hire as a singer to clear out any rodents from the area and Tabby. Of which...

The teeny bop brigade will vote for anything that makes a noise and jumps about......

Rowetta was probably cheated by the system. when I tried to vote for her via interactive I had to make several attempts to over come an "error" message with the phone connection. A lot of her voters were probably put off or couldn't get through... BB all over again........

There is no talent left that is worth the time of day.....So goodby the "X" factor for me.

[Kaz]

Apparently tomorrow night's songs are:

Tabby
Pride, In the Name of Love
Sailing

Steve
Greatest Love of All
Have I told You Lately

G4
O Holy Night
Bohemian Rhapsody

Who'll go through? ....... you decide! I can't be bothered.

P.S. Go Julian!!!! in Celebrity Come Dancing.

[Mike]

Im hoping Tabby wins but it depends how well he sings on the night.

[BusyBee]

Well Tabby has gone - dying to know how Simon will cope if G4 wins. They are so like Il Diva. Is the world ready for two groups like that. Personally I hope Steve wins basically because I love his choice of songs and I think it will be good for the industry if an 'oldie' wins and that blond one in G4 is getting too big for his boots.

And Kaz I do so hope Julian wins Come Dancing. He is appearing in Panto in Bristol this year and we have tickets - perhaps he will give us a reprise of his dancing.

[Kaz]

Well, its bye bye Tabby .... that was a bit of a shocker!

So the final is between ...................

Steve, the singing milkman

and

G4, the poor man's Il Divo

Judging on last night's performances ( I taped X Factor and watched it later on today ), G4 might just win this.

Have either of them got the x-Factor to make people go out in their hundreds of thousands and buy their records ... and go along to their tours ..... sadly, I don't think so. They're good Saturday night entertainment, but a lasting career in the record industry's a completely different ballgame.

Strictly Come Dancing's FAR more important than this ..... come on Julian!

[bananarama]

In spite of what I said about it being over for me after Rowetta went I did never the less watch it.

Tabby eliminated is not what I expected. Even more alarming why oh why is that dreadfully average boring singer of boring songs "Steve" still there. How in fact did he get through the auditions. I suppose his silly grin sends some women off on some sort of mental trip.

What would let Tabby down is that he wanders out of tune. I cringed the other day when he sung on the "This morning show" So badly out of tune that anyone would have noticed. No good for a serious musical carreer.

G4 surprised me as I have not thought much of them to date. Their Saturday performance though I thought was outstanding. If the likes of Steve wins then it will be a bigger farce than it has been to date..... Somehow I think the public are just mad enough to give him the crown.

Then within a few months he will be history and forgotten about.....One can only hope.........

[BusyBee]

I was very surprised to see Tabby go - though perhaps it had a lot to do with his rendition of Sailing which I thought was awful. Perhaps many of his fans thought he was a cert.

As for G4 - they should get a job as a Queen tribute act - they are brilliant at any Queen song. Dont like their operatic slant on things though and I do wonder how Simon will cope with two similar acts in his camp if they win. And that Jonathon is getting too big for his boots - talk about over-confident, it is going to his head. I didnt care one way or the other about Louis, but I now feel he is full of himself.

As for Steve - I love his songs sorry Banarama, though not as good as the originals.

Who will win, I am not sure as Simon says you either love G4 or hate them, and Steve is middle of the road. I too will sit on the fence.

[chaz fit!]

TABBY ALL D WAY! I THINK HE'S GONNA GET FAMOUS ANYWAYS I HOPE! I LOVE HIM! HES SOOOOO GOOD! XXXXX

[Romantic Old Bird]

Sorry to be the old damp squib again (why wouldn't a squib be damp, BTW?) but I am supremely unmoved by either of the remaining acts.

Suspect they will both sink without trace in a few weeks.

[bananarama]

If Steve wins then after his initial success he will fade into oblivion as he is less than average when it comes to singing. He has a winning smile and no doubt he is a nice guy. But "X" factor !!! No way. No where. No time. He could get a job at a cheese factory as his voice will turn milk to cheese faster than any other process known to man.

G4 if they win may have more logevity but that will depend on the songs they manage to re-arrange and ruin. Mostly they are to gimmicky and sound most of the time like run of the mill somewhat confused barber shop singers.

Rowetta was the only true fully formed talent deserving of the "X" factor title. Too many young people watching the show and wasting votes on the likes of Tabby the out of tune noise machine for Rowetta to have ever stood a chance of winning.

One thing I hate about the "X" facror is all the sentimentality gimmicks that have been pulled of by the judges.
Tabby singing with children and acting more like a politition peddling for votes by kissing babies...

G4 and one of then crying because his mother was not there as she was ill which turned out to be nothing more than a cold. That no doubt won a lot of sympathy votes.

All this has nothing to with getting reactions from the public based on "TALENT" and not sob stories and personal begging for votes. If you have got this far and are still awake then my rant is over. For now.....

[Kaz]

Originally posted by Romantic Old Bird
Sorry to be the old damp squib again (why wouldn't a squib be damp, BTW?) but I am supremely unmoved by either of the remaining acts.

Suspect they will both sink without trace in a few weeks.

We can be a pair of damp squibs together, ROB!

What a long, drawn out affair the final was.

Far too much attention paid to the sniping and bickering among the judges ...... and Sharon Osborne's remarks about Steve - true or not - probably had just the opposite effect to the one she wanted in that they probably made Steve fans lift the phone and vote for him again.

Louis Walsh just couldn't help slipping in mentions of Westtripe at every opportunity - irritating little git that he is.

Oh, yes ......... the 2 finalists ....... nearly forgot about them.

Of the two, I thought G4 sang the better, but there's no way I'd buy an album or go along to one of their concerts - a couple of songs at a time is more than sufficient. Have a sneaky feeling that Jonathan will part company with the other three in the not too distant future and try to make a solo career, which would be a shame for the other three.

Steve was OK - his first song was the best one for me. I was a bit shocked at how unprofessional he was when trying to sing after he'd been announced as the winner. For gawd's sake - Will, Michelle, Girls Aloud and Alex all managed to compose themselves and sing it properly ..... it was embarrassing to watch.

Just wonder how long it'll be before Slimon loses interest in Steve - just like he did with Gareth and Michelle ......... the pop industry is a cut-throat business today.

[Di2001]

Not watched any of the build-up to the X-Factor final but caught the result last night. I think G4 should have won - what great voices they have. Don't think we've seen the last of them......

[bananarama]

Sharon's intervention on a personal basis did the trick and ensured a large sympathy vote for the that total rubbish singer Steve. This contest has been judged on sentimental tom foolery instead of talent. Another "Sob" session from Steve also inevitably provoked some sentimental votes.

To think we are going to have another series of this garbage. Maybe an asteroid wil hit the earth before then and put us all out of our misery.....

[Romantic Old Bird]

Dearie me. What a debacle. What an odd outburst by Sharon.
Did it backfire on her, or was it planned.

Will Steve be around this time next year to make the Christmas Album?
Will G4 do the clubs?
Does anyone really care?

BTW, what happened to Alex Parks and Michelle McManus??

[BusyBee]

Well Alex should still be living in her flat which was on a year's lease. As for Michelle = who knows.

As for Sharon I quite admired a fellow Mrs O until Saturday, but thought there was absolutely no need for her personal attack on Steve. It is only a show and everyone is putting on an act. I'm sure a lot of people did pick up the phones and vote for him following that so it all blew back in her face. And now we get the 'it was fixed' media coverage from Louis and Sharon saying Simon's acts had more time for rehearsals etc. Is it a case of sour grapes because their acts didnt win? Though I would have loved to see how Simon coped with two similar acts in his company - who would have got preferential treatment. Il Divo or G4 - we will never know.

Perhaps if there is a new series we wont have to hear 'Westlife do it better' all the time from Louise (sorry freudian slip there).

And how long before Jonathon goes solo or goes into a West End Show.

I felt sorry for that lad with the lovely voice who Sharon picked and then publicly chose Tabby instead. I thought he was very good.

Next series I would like Louis to have the young ones, Simon the groups and Sharon the older section.

[bananarama]

The "X" factor third rate club singer days are numbered......(See below) He had better make the most of his million pound contract as that is likely to be his only one.....


News article below.......Tuesday December 14, 11:13 AM

X Factor Winner Booed Off Stage

Steve Brookstein had a sample taster of the infamous hostile crowd, when he was booed off stage not once but THREE times at his first gig since winning X Factor.

The soul-singer turned up to perform at The Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops Christmas Party, only to be greeted by a wall of booing and jeering.


It got so bad DJ Scott Mills had to cajole the 2,000-strong crowd at London's Shepherds Bush Empire to give him another chance, which they did... but only until he started singing.

According to one guest, as soon as he started warbling, the booing struck up again, Steve forgot his words and had to apologise to the crowd:

"He was extremely shaken and looked to be holding back tears. It made him look like a novice, especially alongside the likes of Kylie Minogue, who also sang."

Just 24 hours after winning the X Factor vote, the 36-year-old crooner had to admit: "I don't think I appeal to a lot of younger people. There was a lot of noise and the booing just threw me. Hopefully I'll get through it."


And it wasn't just the unwelcome crowd participation that Steve found hard to handle, but the backstage probing by journalists also riled him somewhat.

After being asked whether his first album was going to be full of cover versions, he snapped back: "Actually, it is not going to be an album of covers. The album is going to be good."

After a short while, his PR stopped the interviewing - perhaps aware that Steve's 15 minutes of fame could well be ticking away.

[AndyJK]

I saw the ex-second hand car salesman perform on Top Of The Pops last week and felt it was the most emotionless, soulless performance I've seen of "Against All Odds" ever televised. To use a phrase by Cowell, it was cabaret from start to finish - which is insulting to cabaret singers!

On the last show of the X-Factor, I phoned and voted 3 times for G4. They are original, fresh and would appeal to people young and old with their virtuoso singing style. But, surprise, surprise they lost to some talentless pseud. It seems every reality show I get involved in attracts people from a parallel universe voting for these losers to win:

Michelle McManus
Cameron Stout
Nadia
And now Steve