|
Send us your opinions and thoughts on
any area of the entertainment industry
here
Letters
X Factor - Fixed?
X Factor is what it sets out to be and
that is a method of optimising the maximum profits for the producers
and owners of the programme. If you accept it for what it is you
cannot help but have a sneaking admiration for the slickness of the
marketing machine behind it. We must also accept that despite its
obvious manoeuvres in this direction it is still a programme that
hits the ranking spots and so whilst it continues to do so it will
be a very saleable commodity to the TV networks.
Simon Cowell and his production company Syco have a business model
that has proven successful and whilst it remains so they will
continue to work it to its potential.
The initial auditions held are not in front of the "Panel" but a
production team who select who goes through. I suspect at this stage
they deliberately let people through who have absolutely no ability
just so they make good tv viewing. There is no other explanation as
to how some people get as far as the "Panel" on TV and cannot sing a
note. It is apparent that the audition programmes are now avid
viewing for exactly that reason as viewers appear to get enjoyment
out of seeing people make complete fools of themselves on national
TV. This in itself however undermines the morality of the programme
as a genuine talent competition as I have contacts who have
auditioned who I know have an ability and they never get past
first base and yet they are streets ahead of many that get as far as
the "Panel". However that would not make good viewing and the tv
public would not want to sit through hour upon of hour of auditions
with averagely talented people. Good viewing are at the extremes i.e
very good or very bad and that eliminates the vast majority in the
middle.
Setting that aside the timing of the programme with the run up to
the release of a Christmas single on the back of the programmes
media presence at that time almost guarantees a number one single at
Christmas and another few million for the shows organisers.
Interestingly several winners of these talent contests have fallen
spectacularly after the media hype has diminished and reality has
kicked in that they have no sustainable talent to take them further.
Come in HearSay and Gareth Gates and who the hell was it who won X
Factor last year .... to name but a few. Notable exceptions being
Will Young and Lemar who write their own material and Girls Aloud
who ...well just look so dam good...
Unfortunately X Factor is in danger of becoming "Pop Idol" by any
other name and I personally would like to have seen Andy or Brenda
win as Shane seemed to be groomed to win way back during earlier
shows with talks of a 1million pound record deal already on the
table as you sensed the marketing moguls could smell money to be
made by packaging him as a better looking Justin Timberlake and
promoting him to the teenage girl market that would throw their hard
earned parents pocket money their way.
Has Shane got the X Factor. Well if X factor equates to a marketing
image that will make a ton of money for his backers then perhaps
yes. If X Factor means that indefinable something that makes someone
truly standout as special and world class then in my case the jury
is still out.....
Gezz B
I've just watched X
Factor for the first time tonight and a lot of it seems to be a
statistical game they play with the voting. It is quite obvious as
to who is the winner without actually counting all the votes that
come in. On the show they keep saying all the time the gap between
the people is only xx%, and when you hear this you instantly
thinking wow it really is close, however when you turn that % number
into real numbers it's really not that close, and in addition to
this in the last 2 minutes for the other person to win would take
that many phone calls that the phone system in the UK just couldn't
cope.
Tonight they said they received 10.8 million calls and Andy only
lost by 1.2% of the vote. That might look minute when in percentage
form, however when you convert that to real numbers it would have
taken over 120,000 more votes to allow Andy to win, so they probably
can work it out at least 5 minutes before the results exactly who
will win. So all in all they probably don't take into account all
votes sent in, but the votes they miss off would make such a minor
adjustment to the real winner that they're really not worth
considering. The only bit that should be considered is the amount
of votes they received where the phone system can't accept the call
due to the influx of calls (to ensure that the emergency services
can still use the phone, like what happened with This Morning a few
years ago!) and just results in sending a busy signal or "I'm sorry
too many people are trying to reach this destination, please try
later" message.
Darren Foster
Just can't help thinking this show is rigged but then
something comes along to even it out. Ok, why are we never allowed
to see the actual results of the votes even after the contest has
finished. Why did Simon vote off his own act? Surely, someone as
astute and clever as Simon would have a hidden agenda behind his
actions. It is a fact that the losers of X Factor cannot sign a
recording contract for a certain amount of time until the programme
has ended. I think it's 4 months or so. Maybe Simon wants to sign
The Conway Sisters but new they wouldn't win the contest and so gets
rid of them quickly so he can sign then a lot sooner. hmmm. Makes
you wonder. As for rigged votes, if that's the case, would Michelle
McManus have won Pop Idol. The judges knew she would only be a one
hit wonder and so it's unlikely it was rigged. Makes you wonder??
Terry Lambeth
I
totally agree with the comments mentioned - also as Sharon had 2
artists left, could you imagine what would either Simon or Louis be
doing next week if their artist had been the loser this week. Surely
no - it has now left it that each judge has one artist. what a
surprise.
David Tiffany
There is something not right about the
way that the winner is selected. The obvious talent is/was Brenda
and she was most clearly destined to win the competition. The power
of her voice alone puts her ahead of the others.
What is suspicious is the way in which the competition is handled.
The judges seem to play up to a notoriety that takes the focus away
from the singers. It leaves me wondering about the integrity of the
show - and that is probably the thinking of many others. I would
like to believe that the talent is recognised by the public but
until we know more about the fan base behind each contestant we will
always be guessing about this show.
Santari Green
|
