There are many people who are very surprised about last night’s X Factor result, when 18 year old Lucie Jones was voted off to 18 year old duo John & Edward by the public vote.
John & Edward have been criticised by Simon Cowell, who joked a few weeks ago that he would leave the country if the duo won. After ordering Louis Walsh to apologise to Gordon Brown for allowing John & Edward through to the live shows on Saturday night, Cowell then went on to vote Lucie out of the show on Sunday night – a move which shocked many X Factor viewers.
Why!?
We all know that X Factor is looking for entertainers, and not necessarily singers. And, as much as the British public may disagree with me (and, for that matter, Simon Cowell), John & Edward are entertainers, whilst Lucie is simply a singer. We all know that John & Edward have a large fan base, who will buy their records and bring in the money. We all know that Cowell’s dislike for the duo is simply an act – it has already been revealed that he wants them to be his act.
And we musn’t forget that music is a business. The whole point of a business is to bring in the money. Although not to everyone’s taste, John & Edward will sell records. They have taken criticisms against them well, and I haven’t seen them brought down by anything yet. They may not be the best singers in the world, but their attitude towards X Factor is very commendable.
At the end of the day, you don’t want the best, original singers to win the programme, because they will have no say in the music they make. Simon Cowell mentions the phrase “credible artist” when judging some acts. That phrase does not mean “X Factor winner” – the two are totally different. To keep it short, if Lucie Jones really is a credible artist, now is her chance to prove it – by working to get her own record deal. The same goes for any other X Factor contestant.
As for the other contestants, I’ve been watching very carefully over the last 5 weeks. I’ve deliberatley not said anything in the blog, because I’ve been waiting until I’m completely sure as to what I think of each contestant.
Based on Saturday’s programme, I believe that Lloyd Daniels’ rendition of Stand by Me was very weak. Lloyd’s vocals overall are often out of tune, and his voice simply isn’t strong enough to sing the bigger songs. The 2 which I particularly enjoyed this week were Olly Murrs’ rendition of Twist and Shout, and Joe McElderry’s rendition of Circle of Life. Jamie Archer is also a strong contestant, although it wasn’t the best this week.
Of course, the music business is all about opinion. What’s good for one person is bad for another, and **** for another. So… leave your opinions below!
The image used was created by Flickr member Leif Carlsen, and has been used under a Creative Commons license.
