I'm not quite sure what to make of this show. I quite like the beginning of the series where people drop in for their first audition and they have to sing acappella. Some latter shows in the years permitted backing tapes. Some of them are quite good, some are quite bad. Some of them are so bad you just know that they are not serious about the competition.Sometimes I think the judges should allow one or two bad ones through to the next round for a laugh. It's never been done before, so who knows what would happen? In order to get through the first round, the auditionees require the majority of yes votes, which means more than half. So when Sharon Osbourne had to leave due to a home fire, they needed both Louis and Simon to vote yes, otherwise they were out.I feel that this was unfair and the rules should have been amended slightly in order to make things a little fairer, after all, what would Sharon have said if she was there? Was it the auditionees fault that she wasn't there? I hate the little inconsistencies as well. The group "Eskimo Blond" got through the first round with their lead singer, Harri, or some name like that. She then went on to go solo the next year and got further than her band did as they replaced her with another girl and according to the judges, Eskimo Blond did not have a lead singer (all three girls just sang and backed themselves, no one girl stood out). They were singing "Viva Forever" by the Spice Girls. It sounded quite good. Does it really matter about a lack of lead vocals if the tune sounds good? Surely enough another girl trio came on singing the song "Do Your Thing" by Basment Jaxx, (I believe) and again they did not really have any have any lead vocals, and it was a lot less smoother than Eskimo Blond's "Viva Forever", with one girl practically shouting "Do Your Thing" all the time, nevertheless they got through! One or two auditionees after a bad start were given a second chance, which is unfair on the other auditionees.Some of the judges comments are funny, however sometimes it is quite clear to see that they go too far. Sharon Osbourne said to one girl something along the lines of "You're not the sort of person suited for popular music" and she shouted back "And Ozzy is!?" Who's to say which sounds are good and bad really? It really is a matter of opinion. Personally I am not familiar with Ozzy Osbourne's work but I'm sure for him to get so much fame, he must be some good. However some people do not like his stuff and such opinions should really be respected.I find it funny how the acts that I like always seem to come second. Is this some sort of fix? It would seem that acts that are not mainstream pop will never win. G4, Andy Abraham, Ray Quinn and Rhydian. All good singers and all came second.The winners were good as well, but isn't it funny how these four are not really pure pop singers either? G4 and Rhydian are both the classical type, Andy Abraham is more soul and Ray Quinn is a crooner.Not only did Andy Abraham have a good voice, he had bags of personality and really down to earth. I've never met him, but he's the sort of bloke I'd want as a friend for life. You only have to look at him to know he's a good man.And how on Earth some rubbish acts like Hope got as far as they did is really beyond me too. I always find that no matter how rubbish a girl group are on this show, they only have to sing Lady Marmalade and suddenly they're the best sound ever (well for the next few minutes anyway).Don't forget that just because an act doesn't win, doesn't mean they are totally useless. Look at that Onka Judge who sang Michael Jackson's Earth Song. Yes he was bad but he was funny. He might not make a good singer, but I'm sure he's be a good entertainer, comedian or a bit of both.Over all, it's a good show for finding good singing talents, but it can be unrealistic as far as REAL winners are concerned.

Recently "Nasty" Nigel and Simon Cowell were in court because the former (nothing to do with this show) was claiming damages off the latter for stealing the idea from Pop Idol etc to make this show. Of course to the majority of us this just seemed like an easy claim because, aside from legal technicalities over whether or not you can copyright a concept, the X Factor is clearly just Pop Idol etc in slightly different clothes (but not even that different). The court case was settled behind closed doors and everything went on as normal but we the viewers were still left with a show that continues to flog a formula that seems like it will never die.The X Factor is supposedly different from Pop Stars/Idol because it is about the people as well as the music; you know – that x factor that makes stars stars. Well, at least on paper that is what it is about but taking a look at it, it looks awfully like Pop Idol crossed with Popstars (groups and solo artists), with different judges, a new presenter and a slightly different approach (we see a lot more of the training as each artist is taken under the wing of one of the judges). It has nothing really original in it and, although the artists are supposedly got individuality (x factor) they still belt out cover versions; in fact series 1 winner Brookstein (praised by Cowell for his individual sound) was very quickly dropped from the 6 album deal he won because he refused to do an album of cover versions. Anyway, so much for that idea, so for the most part this is just another clone of the same formula. The music is nice, big, professional karaoke of hits that everyone can sing along at home to but it is all very dull and depressing if you are looking for more.The training camp may allow those of us that were adolescent boys in the 1980's a chance to rekindle our lust for Sinitta but mainly the way that the groups are split up across the judges is less about training and more about allowing conflict between them. The producers have realised that it is the judges that get the headlines and inject the character into these shows so here we have it pushed and endlessly stage-managed. They do this to extremes, this year having Osbourne throw water on Walsh, with the latter saying he has quit the show, only to return after a week of free headlines in the tabloids, stirring up the viewers and upping ratings (something they can't do with the bland acts themselves). Presenter Kate Thornton can't help us because she is just as caught up in the whole thing and comes across as there is nothing more important happening in the world than the results of the public vote – and maybe for her there isn't. Even after the vote though, the judges still get their say (which made me doubt their independence since both "losers" will belong to at least one of them), cue more pantomime booing, hissing and jeering in line with the whole idea of manufactured drama.Overall this is a popular show because the formula works for a lot of people. I won't demean them on this decision but I will say that it doesn't work for me. The judges stir it up the best they can and try to get headlines for the show and conceal how bland the artists themselves are but really this is just what it has always been – a big, obvious karaoke show that gives the masses something easy and hollow to watch on a Saturday night. Hopefully it will all come to an end soon but I suspect we'll continue to get the same formula with minor twists for as long as the viewers will watch it. My only hope is that one of those twists will be the inclusion of live, hungry bears, freely roaming the backstage area.

We had seen Popstars (The Rivals) and Pop Idol, we thought that could be enough, but no, there was another one. The only thing that's close to all of them is the involvement of National Television Award nominated Simon Cowell. With him are Westlife's manager, Louis Walsh and Ozzy Osbourne's manager and wife, National Television Award winning Sharon Osbourne. When I started watching the actual show, it was really good. The contestants worked really hard, and the one's that didn't put in enough effort eventually left. The best singers are always left to last, and it becomes really hard to choose the winner. But personally, it's the auditions that are the highlight. Some become really successful and deserve to go through, but the best ones are the bad ones. So far the show has had winners Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward and Leona Lewis, but other acts that were discovered have become successful as well, such as G4, Journey South, Maria Lawson, Brenda Edwards, Andy Abraham and Chico. It won the National Television Award for Most Popular Entertainment Programme. Simon Cowell number 33 on The 100 Worst Britons (for being mean), he was number 67 on The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols, and he was number 28 on TV's 50 Greatest Stars, the programme was number 14 on The 100 Greatest Funny Moments for Robert Unwin singing The Bee Gees' Tragedy and then Aqua's Barbie Girl, and it was number 19 on The 100 Greatest TV Treats 2004. Very good!

... Screamed Roberto Duran as he walked out of his legendary bout with Sugar Ray Leonard . After seeing the first three editions of THE X FACTOR I also have to scream " NO MORE . NO MORE " and walk away from this TV concept that is doing my brain no good . Call it what you want but it's just FLOP IDOL under a different name And after seeing POP IDOL , American IDOL , POP STARS THE RIVALS etc we know what to expect by now . The trailers revolve around Simon Cowell being interviewed : " I think we'll be seeing some outstanding talent "Cut to some loser making a fool of themselves" I doubt if we'll see one bad singer " Cut to bad singer YAWN In order to make a fast buck the criteria has changed . Instead of singers aged 18 to 26 the entry criteria for auditions are for singers aged 18 to 24 , 25 plus , and groups . There's also a ridiculous judge in the shape of Sharon Osbourne . Forgive me for asking but is she actually a big name in music management ? I know she manages her husband ( Obviously very badly ) who's only claim to fame is that he's one of the very few rock superstars from the 1970s to be still breathing and without a criminal conviction for downloading child porn . I also find Sharon's use of the word " fabulous " very irritating . " Oh you look fabulous darling . Darling what a fabulous voice you have . Fabulous , fabulous , fabulous " You'd have thought being married to Ozzy for all these years she'd happily believe Professor Stephen Hawking has a fabulous voice . Is she the best judge the producers could find ? What's really irritating me about this show is that there's not enough emphasis on the deluded idiots who insist on turning up to make an idiot of themselves . There has been glimpses though not enough for my liking and it wasn't until the third episode we had a couple of classics . One was a male Princess Diana lookalike who informed the panel that he was 144 years old while another came in dressed up as Guy Fawkes and did a rap number and tried to give the judges a copy of his video which they refused because both the video and the singer stank . No I don't mean his singing was awful ( It was ) but because the Guy Fawkes lookalike had terrible B.O Maybe it was wrong of me to comment on this show long before it has finished its run , but I am getting very fed up with this annual contest which only exists to make revenue for advertisers and a fast buck for Cowell's record label . Last year's POP IDOL was won by Michelle McManus who was a body even more unattractive than Mick McManus the wrestler and who has failed to shift records in any large numbers and hopefully the winner of THE X FACTOR will go on to even smaller things . Does the country that gave the world The Beatles really need these talent shows ? No mas please