To Sofabet readers/commentators and conspiracy theorists of TPTB...
StratusSphere
Posts: 2,813 Forum Member
✭✭✭
You guys are familiar with the terms 'alpha', 'beta' and 'gamma' for the most preferred, second most preferred and reserve contestant in each category, right?
I'm a long-time lurker of Sofabet's blog, and I know its in-depth coverage and naming and analysis of producers' intentions and chosen ones etc only started in series 7...
So I was wondering, who do you think were the alpha, beta, and gamma in previous series? Got me thinking earlier when I thought of series 6 where Rachel Adedeji was the clear gamma girl but I'm not sure I could say who the alpha was; did they expect Lucie or Stacey to do better? And likewise for the Overs, was it Danyl or Olly that was always meant to come forward and shine? I've actually forgotten the other categories without looking them up on wikipedia though, maybe one of you will have a better recollection.
Series 5 is also a questionable one. The three girls in that series (Diana, Laura, Alexandra) were all very strong, what order would you have them in I wonder? And likewise again the Overs, was Rachel Hylton an alpha who didnt fly or was she only ever there to be sabotaged? (I remember the hideously unflattering grey suit one week)
These are only examples; let's go back through all the serieses and see who we think were the chosen ones. Were there even any as far back as series 1 and 2? Was Leona always intended or was she a fluke? How was series 4 meant to end/progress?
Let me know! Maybe these thoughts looking back will be of use for predicting storylines or trends in the current series too!
I'm a long-time lurker of Sofabet's blog, and I know its in-depth coverage and naming and analysis of producers' intentions and chosen ones etc only started in series 7...
So I was wondering, who do you think were the alpha, beta, and gamma in previous series? Got me thinking earlier when I thought of series 6 where Rachel Adedeji was the clear gamma girl but I'm not sure I could say who the alpha was; did they expect Lucie or Stacey to do better? And likewise for the Overs, was it Danyl or Olly that was always meant to come forward and shine? I've actually forgotten the other categories without looking them up on wikipedia though, maybe one of you will have a better recollection.
Series 5 is also a questionable one. The three girls in that series (Diana, Laura, Alexandra) were all very strong, what order would you have them in I wonder? And likewise again the Overs, was Rachel Hylton an alpha who didnt fly or was she only ever there to be sabotaged? (I remember the hideously unflattering grey suit one week)
These are only examples; let's go back through all the serieses and see who we think were the chosen ones. Were there even any as far back as series 1 and 2? Was Leona always intended or was she a fluke? How was series 4 meant to end/progress?
Let me know! Maybe these thoughts looking back will be of use for predicting storylines or trends in the current series too!
0
Comments
Series 3: I wasn't as aware of all the manipulation back then as I was only 13, but looking back I don't think Leona was pushed as much as you may expect. I think, as you said, she was a bit of a fluke. Her audition only got about a minute of airtime, she wasn't that big a character during boot camp/judges houses, and only properly started to get noticed until the live shows. So I don't think TPTB manipulated this series that much really.
Series 4: This series is generally considered to be the worst of them all, and I think the lack of talent makes this series not really worth commenting on at all. I think they wanted Rhydian to do well, and Same Difference, but other than that I doubt they really cared. Leona was always gonna be a tough act to follow, so this series was always gonna fail imo.
Series 5: This series is SUCH a contrast to the previous. By far the strongest group of finalists the show has ever had. I think TPTB were really pushing all of Alexandra, JLS, Eoghan and Diana. Ruth was a MASSIVE fluke I feel - seemed like they couldn't care less during the first couple of weeks (making her sing in Spanish which would do nothing but damage her votes, giving her a crap slot in week two...) then Purple Rain came of nowhere and everyone took note. The fact that they ditched Laura over her in Week 5 is unbelievable, looking back, as it shows what a huge turnaround she had.
Series 6: They seemed to want Joe to win this series for some bizarre reason. They were also obviously throwing a lot of support behind Jedward just to generate some controversy. I don't think this series was THAT manipulated in all honesty.
Series 7: This is the first series that the manipulation became blindingly obvious. Katie Waissel being saved a ludicrous amount of times is the main one that sticks out from this year. As well as Wagner generally being favoured at the start, but then being shot down towards the end. Not to mention the Cher Lloyd/Mary Byrne semi final bottom two FIASCO, and One Direction generally being pushed every single week with over-the-top praise and good song choices etc.
Series 8: Little Mix got huge pushes from about week 4 onwards, with good performance slots and outrageously over-the-top judges comments. Tulisa should really get a job in motivational speaking, the way she ranted on about Little Mix like they were the sole saviours of planet earth. Janet Devlin was thrown under the bus week after week, Kitty and Johnny were sabotaged by being turned into joke acts, Misha B was heavily favoured (although the week 3 bully scandal is a bit of a twist to that tale)
Series 9: The main manipulation in this series was the absolutely scandalous weekly attack on Christopher Maloney. Appalling songs, really nasty comments, stories leaked to the press constantly about his behaviour... he was public enemy number one. Rylan got massive help this series, and so did Ella until they had to ditch her in favour of James. Union J also seemed to be getting a push, at the expense of District 3 who were thrown under the bus quite dramatically.
Series 10: One word: TAMERA. Consistently strong performance slots, good songs, good praise, all until she started forgetting the words and they seemed to start to give up on her, eventually ditching her in favour of Luke. Abi Alton was thrown under the bus, and so was Nicholas McDonald towards the end, BIG TIME - Candy in the final anyone?! They really didn't want him to win, and rightfully so.
Series 1 2004
Under 24's - Tabby Alpha, Cassie and Roberta made up numbers
Groups - G4 Alpha, Voices With Soul Beta, 2 To Go Gamma
Either Steve or Rowetta could have won. Verity had the sympathy factor ;-)
Series 2 2005
Alpha definitely Shayne - the other three (Chenai, Nicholas and Philip) made up numbers.
Overs - Andy and Brenda were the Alpha's - Maria given 'Brown Sugar', landed in sing off and famously eliminated. Chico the novelty act.
Groups - Journey South Alpha, 4Tune (cute boy band) Beta, the Conway's were like the new Nolan's. Addictiv Ladies bringing up the rear.
Series 3 2006
Ashley Alpha, Leona Beta, Ray and Nikitta made up numbers. However, Ashley failed to impress the public, Leona became the front runner in week 3, Ray worked hard and won over the public and Nikitta was thrown under a bus.
Over's - Ben the Alpha, the other three made up numbers.
Groups - Eton Road Alpha, Unconventionals had the novelty factor, The MacDonalds and 4Sure were disposable. Eton Road peaked in week 4 and their vocal's gradually got worse - producers must have had a shock at the MacDonalds popularity
Series 4 2007
Boys: Rhydian was the Alpha, I think Leon and Andy were deemed disposable
Girls: I think they were all Gamma
Groups: Hope Alpha, Futurproof the backup/Beta, Same Difference made up numbers.
Same Difference did a 'Macs' and the public got behind them - the other two landed bottom two in week 3 (I remember Simon's face:D )
Over's Niki Alpha, Beverley Beta, Daniel Gamma
Series 5 2008
Boys: Austin Alpha, Eoghan (cute factor) Beta, Scott Gamma/disposable
Girls: Initially I think Diana and Laura were Alpha and Alex Beta. But then they began to push Alex instead of Laura.
Over's: Rachel Alpha with Ruth and Daniel making up numbers.
Groups: JLS definitely Alpha. I think they had two girl groups to split the votes and bring about early elimination, thus giving JLS a better chance.
Series 6 2009
Boys: Joe Alpha, Lloyd Beta, Ricky Gamma
Girls: Stacey Alpha, Lucie Beta, Rachel Gamma
Over's: Danyl got all the headlines and standing ovations, but I wonder if that was a blind so Olly could slip through under the radar week after week? Jamie was thrown under a bus.
Groups: Jedward Alpha, Miss Frank Beta, Kandi Raine Gamma
Series 7 2010
Girls: Alpha Katie and Cher and Rebecca Beta. Simon must have been frustrated at Katie's trips to the sing off
Boys: Alpha Matt, Beta Aiden, Gamma Paige, Nicolo under a bus...
Groups: Alpha One Direction, Belle Amie a distant Beta, Diva Fever and FYD disposable
Over's: Alpha Mary (till she proved too popular), Wagna Beta, John and Storm disposable
Series 8 2011
Groups: Little Mix became Alpha after the two boy bands failed to take off. Two Shoes disposable.
Boys: Alpha Marcus though they seemed to want to push for Frankie
Girls: Misha initially the alpha, but public didn't warm to her. Maybe they fetched Amelia back to replace her as Alpha? Sabotaged Sophie and Janet.
Over's: Kitty and Johnny were novelty acts, Jonjo and Sami stood no chance.
Series 9 2012
Boys: I think they would have accepted James or Jahmene as winner - Rylan was the novelty act
Girls: Ella Alpha, Lucy the Beta 'quirky' act, Jade disposable
Over's: I think possibly Melanie Massoon could have been the Alpha (great voice). Kye and Carolynne disposable. Chris Maloney, as the 'people's choice', backfired spectacularly
Groups: With Union J and District 3, they gave themselves two chances at finding another boy band. MK1 was there to make up numbers.
Series 10 2013
Boys: three totally different acts. I think everyone agrees Sam C was there for his looks ;-)
Luke may have been the producers Alpha boy, but the public took to Nicholas and they had to push to increase Luke's votes (hence great songs for him in week's 3 and 4).
Girls: Alpha Tamera (but she blew it with the times she forgot the lyrics), Hannah as a backup Beta and Abi thrown under a bus.
Over's: Sam B sailed from week 1 and never looked back. Shelley and Lorna had might as well not turned up...
Groups: Kingsland Road or possibly Rough Copy as the Alpha. Miss Dynamix made up numbers.
I think Rough Copy were meant to replace JLS, but for me they were always a weak copy. They didn't have the same good looks, the vocals were often off and their fashion sense was dodgy to say the least
So we now look forward to this years batch ;-)
I was new in series 5 so I wasn't taking much notice of producers' acts, but no way in hell is Austin the alpha Boy. Eoghan was the "wonder kid" (a mould taken from David Archuleta in American Idol earlier that year) and the other two were filler.
The Overs were a fodder category, but Rachel was the most viable of the three early on until Ruth sneaked past her.
Danyl was pimped pre-lives but Olly was the sleeper Alpha. The fact that Danyl was "outed" and then criticised by Whitney (for singing I Didn't Know My Own Strength in a mediocre manner).
Alpha Katie? Really? Is this a joke? They had Cher Lloyd on their targets since the audition and Katie was just there for the lolz. When Cher was proving to be unpopular and insufferable, Rebecca became queen. Remember that Katie had late slots so she will be saved, not so she would win.
Nu Vibe were on borrowed time since The Franken-Risk was formed, hence disposable too.
The Boys were never meant to win. Marcus just bubbled up because Frankie crashed and burned and Craig was terrible.
There's a story about the Girls. Janet was the Alpha but she wasn't willing to play ball so TPTB threw everything at her. Misha was sandbagged early to pave way for this but was later helped a lot to take Janet down. Ditto for Amelia (removed in Week 1 because she was the biggest threat to Janet) but was removed to clean up this mess.
The Overs were the Filler of All Fillers, suffering the fastest exit since the Girls four years before. They tried dragging Kitty as far as possible but that's about it.
This series is a mess. Ella or James were the chosen ones; if neither worked, Jahmene. Christopher was massively underestimated. The rest of the Overs were fodder.
I love that you didn't say UJ were favoured, when in fact, favouritism was thrown both ways (different weeks) and UJ just ended up lasting longer.
The Alpha Boy was Nicholas but he wasn't the chosen one (it was Sam Bailey). Luke was elevated to Beta (why he had a bad edit after the room audition, I don't know) and then pushed as Alpha when Nicky was proving to be difficult.
Rough Copy were the undisputed alpha (no "or" please); they were praised like they were Kanye West when they just try to dress like him. Kingsland Road were probably Beta at best, possibly Gamma had SeSe not become pregnant.
I still think Simon wanted Austin to do well - vocally he was the best of the three. Eoghan had a weak voice most of the time and I was baffled by the praise he got.
I said Katie was the Alpha as Simon had apparently bought her out of a previous contract and was (I presume) using X Factor to showcase his new protege. I agree Cher was a 'chosen one' too - hence the blatant voting her into the Final.
Re Katie: think you're getting mixed up between novelty acts and Alphas here. Alphas were intended to be the last act standing in each category and Katie was never set up to do well (irritating personality, denied Gamu a spot in lives) but more to create controversy and ratings for the show. I think Rebecca was always the initial intended alpha due to her backstory, her Liverpool regional base and her intended journey (to self-confidence, a journey that had worked wonders with Leona and Alexandra). Cher was a producer favourite - yes, but I think producers always realised that she was too divisive to win so a place in the later stages with an eye on a post-show career was used for her. Rebecca had the benefit of not choking at Judges Houses, as well as being the best singer and having significant voting advantages that the other two girls simply didn't have so I think she was always the Alpha-girl in Series 7.
Series 2 is interesting. Shayne is not favoured really until a double pimp ins the semi and final to assure his victory.
Conway sisters are intersting was Louis tasked with stirring up controversy? Simon had to send them home in the end despite being in his own category, were they worried about Louis going rogue and saving Conways?
The Maria Lawson exit is fascinating given she was allegedly first the previous week. She went from second with an unsuitable song. She probably finished 7th in the vote, which means 6 people passed her from one week to the next. Shayne was up first and he went on to win not much of a surprise. Nicholas had a sympathy bounce. Runner up Andy was fourth so not too surprising. Brenda got the pimp slot. Journey South seemed to have a dedicated fan base who voted every week. Chico must have edged past Maria.
They did all they could for Chico as well until the top 5 where they took no chances. Suggests to me something was up with Conways lasting so long. Having to save Chico in the round of 6 was hardly ideal as he could have bounced to the the semis from there.
Think they preferred Brenda to Andy aswell. Her slots from week 5 are consistently better than his (bar his pimp slot).
Series 3
Ashley is an interesting one, I think they expected him to get further than he did. Week 3 is the turning point, Ashley ends up in the bottom 3 and Leona does Summertime. They switched horses from there. Ben and Eton Road alpha over and group.
I think they wanted a Leona, Ben & Eton Road final, one from each category is always a good narrative. The problem arose when MacDonald brothers were above the bottom 2 in the final five. They had to dispatch Eton Road. I think the plan was MacDonald bros 5th, Ray was pimped to be above the bottom 2 and then he'd go the net week.
Series 4 was the Leon Jackson car crash which led to producer manipulation increasing.
It was a poor year really.The girls were a total disaster.
Series 5 is the first year we have access to voting figures which makes things easier.
Before the lives started: Alpha group JLS and the girlbands were filler.
Alpha Boy: Austin Beta-Eoghan. Gamma-Scott
Alpha Over: Rachel Hylton
Alpha Girl: Mighty difficult to pick. I'd go Diana. Dual beta of Laura and Alex.
Austin and Rachel both didn't have the popularity. They got rid of Austin so as not to embarrass Danni with losing all her acts early.
They picked Alexandra over Laura when she went to second after being pimped. (Better than Laura's third) and were spooked by Diana being ill. Alexandra was seen as more likely winner. Also some controversy drummed up which is the shows oxygen.
Diana's 4th from the pimp slot in Week 8 meant that they got behind Alexandra (with JLS as back up) to stop Eoghan victory.
Series 6 is difficult, might have something to say on it later.
Series 6
I agree with the general consensus on Series 6.
Boys: Joe - Alpha, Lloyd - Beta, Rikki - Gamma.
Girls: Stacy - Alpha, Lucy - Beta, Rachel - Gamma.
Groups: Jedward - Alpha, Miss Frank - Beta, Kandy Rain - Gamma.
Overs: Olly - Alpha, Danyl - Beta, Jamie - Gamma.
Boys were pretty clear all the way through. Interestingly they consistently pimped Joe and didn't seem too bothered by his ultimate win, whilst Lloyd was saved mainly to even up the acts in the categories (Jamie being the best example).
Stacy was always the Alpha-Girl imo. She had a huge set-up from the first live show, had a wonderful voice and an interesting personality (Plus the single mother storyline). Lucy had quite a bit of focus but was clearly Beta and was the perfect act to get axed over Jedward in Week 5 (For ratings). Considering what happened and the small focus she got pre-lives, Rachel was always fodder.
The groups were crap this year, hence the pimping of controversial Jedward. To be fair, the other two were girlbands and unlikely to do well, but they were never going to pushed as much as Jedward were.
Overs is the most interesting. Danyl got tons of focus and seemed to be the Alpha-Over early days, but it was clear that producers wanted Olly to do really well, as evidenced by the fact that 3 out of 4 judges picked him to win at Boot Camp. In that case, I agree with the consensus that Danyl was more of a fake-out and that Olly was the true "Sleeper Alpha". Jamie proved popular early, but I think he was always going to be the one thrown under the bus.
Series 7
The wildcard twist messed quite a bit up in terms of producer intentions. Prior to the wildcard twist, I think it was:
Boys: Matt - Alpha, Aiden - Beta, Nicolo - Gamma.
Girls: Rebecca - Alpha, Cher - Beta, Katie - Gamma (But not your standard Gamma).
Groups: 1D - Alpha, Belle Amie - Beta, FYD - Gamma.
Overs: Mary - Alpha, Storm - Beta, John - Gamma.
Matt was obviously always Alpha, but with Diva Fever and Wagner's inclusion from the Wild-card, Nicolo was no longer needed. Aiden was probably always the intended Beta, but he was never that popular, so produces just gave up on him. Paije did better than expected, but again - producers didn't care that much to keep him around.
I maintain that Rebecca was always the Alpha, with Cher the solid Beta. Treyc became the Gamma in the traditional sense (i.e. fodder) whilst Katie was obviously kept around for ratings and controversy, so its a bit difficult to analyse her in the same ways we would for other acts.
1D were the chosen ones of course, the other groups might as well have not existed. Belle Amie were very mildly pimped but producers sought to get rid of them once they landed in the B2 with a more favoured act. The other two groups were both treated as the fodder that they were.
Mary was the Alpha from start to finish, but producers weren't interested in her doing that well. Wagner pretty well took up Storm's role as the Beta Over designed to cause controversy. With wildcards coming in and making Storm's role pretty redundant, he was thrown under a bus, whilst John Adeleye remained in his role as Gamma-Over.
Series 8
This one was very difficult as producer intentions were all over the place and changed a lot throughout the series. Going into Live Shows, it seemed to be something like this:
Boys: Frankie - Alpha, Craig & Marcus - Beta, James - Gamma.
Girls: Janet - Alpha, Misha & Amelia - Beta, Sophie - Gamma.
Groups: Nu Vibe - Alpha, The Risk - Beta, Little Mix & 2 Shoes - Gamma.
Overs: Kitty - Alpha, Johnny - Beta, Jonjo & Sami - Gamma.
Things changed A LOT after two weeks in the competition. Their big Frankie plan hugely backfired, whilst they suddenly turned on Janet for no real reason. Meanwhile Nu Vibe had had their chances completely destroyed in the first week, allowing The Risk to come in as Alpha, before they switched horses to Little Mix around Week 4. Overs never really changed, apart from Johnny briefly threatening to turn into the Alpha-Over.
Because producers' intentions changed so much, its difficult to create an Alpha-Beta-Gamma chart for most of the competition but I'll do my best:
Boys: Marcus - Alpha, Craig - Beta, Frankie - Gamma (After he was seen to be pretty well useless after Week 2)
Girls: Misha - Alpha (Though Bullygate still causes confusion), Amelia - Beta (Though she was pimped to get rid of Janet), Janet - Gamma (Not your average Gamma, though, as she was so popular), Sophie - Gamma (Obviously).
Groups: Little Mix - Alpha (Eventually, after The Risk began to burn out), The Risk - Beta, Nu Vibe - Gamma.
Overs: Kitty - Alpha, Johnny - Beta, Sami - Gamma.
But as I say, things got very difficult to analyse this series due to the ever-changing intentions, the fact that they tried so hard to make Little Mix win and because they tried so much to get rid of Janet.
I found it surprising that some of the acts never got offered a record deal - Tabby in 2004, plus Stacey and Danyl in 2009 (especially Stacey making the final and never hitting bottom two).
After being pimped so much, Danyl must have been gutted to ended up with nothing. If he was used as a smokescreen so Olly could slip quietly through, it's even worse - having his hopes built up and not realising he's being used to benefit someone else
They really jumped ship bigtime in this series. Partly why it remains one of my favourites - just in terms of how INTERESTING it is.
Its the only series where their final 3 are almost defaults - Amelia; who was thrown under a bus in the first week, completely destroying the momentum she'd built up in the auditions and coming into the lives - Marcus, who very much flew under the radar from auditions-lives and very much until midway through the lives (a trajectory perhaps similar to Alexandra Burke's) - not really appearing to compete with the stories of 'rockstar-Frankie' and biscuit-boy Craig's journey to losing weight and gaining confidence. They really realised they shot themselves in the foot when the last two boys standing were revealed to be gay as well - they didnt have the 'doing it for me girl' mum-and-gran-vote-grabber narrative to fall back on, resulting in Marcus's awkward love-song-to-his-mum in the final. And then we have the girlband - awkwardly named 'Rhythmix' to start off with, dressed in garish 'colour vomit' outfits week on week, and given bizarre song choices like a spoken-word rap/sung Super Bass, and Kesha's Tik Tok in Rock week. Very much marketed at the start as the 'quirky' gamma act like Miss Frank or MK1, maybe to appeal to kiddies - they were then forced to run with them not, I imagine, because they soared above everyone else, but because everyone else was so horrendously unpopular due to both failed and successful producer manipulations.
Also of note, the narrative they tried to make fly with Frankie reared its ugly head last year again to go with Luke, I think - only with dirty hair rather than a tattoo on his arse and more of a hippie than 'rocker' aesthetic.
In general, I think that's why the last few series have been both interesting in terms of to watch as someone not really personally invested in the acts but in watching the manipulation - its become both more transparent (out of desperation, it almost feels like, on the producers' part) - and less successful. So many acts they have tried to 'cast' in the mold of people who've been on the show before, and so many just havent worked out that way. It reminds me of The Apprentice in that sense - does anyone also watch that? - in that a lot of the drama isnt exactly 'manufactured' - but it more comes of cosying up people with each other as if they were characters or new versions of people on the show from the past - when actually; they may have some similar attributes or qualities, but they are actually different people.
I'm really interested this series to see to what extent Chloe Jasmine plays ball. Where Waissell didnt do herself any favours from becoming the hate figure; Abi (through tears) and Rylan (through charm) absolutely managed to get out of that role by making the public warm to them. Chloe J doesnt at the minute seem to be that hated on here; people are either/both charmed and bemused by her more than vitriolic; that might translate into a tendency just to tolerate her quirkiness more than making her into a divisive hate figure.
X Factor also isnt as huge as it used to be - where there was universal Waissell-hate because so many were invested in the genuine success of their favourites who they cared about; I don't know how far that's the case anymore - how many of us are just watching the X Factor in order to see the car crashes and just as casual entertainment rather than watching JUST because of their favourite/favourites.
I'm also going to ID a few "strong beta" acts, ones the producers have some commercial interest in and would like to get to the top 4-5. There are also some "judge fight" acts there to encourage the judges to scrap about their ability.
This is how I think it looked entering the lives. Definitely some thing changed in the week before. I think Miss Dynamix might have been a beta, maybe even a strong one, if not for the pregnancy, for example, and Nu Vibe lost the alpha battle to The Risk pretty late, at least partially because they were fighting.
Series 7:
Boys: Matt - Alpha, Aiden - Beta, Paije - Gamma, Nicolo - Novelty
Girls: Rebecca - Alpha, Cher - Strong Beta, TreyC - Gamma, Katie - Controversy
Groups: 1D - Alpha, Belle Amie - Beta, FYD - Gamma, Diva Fever - Novelty
Overs: Mary - Alpha, John - Gamma, Storm - Novelty/Judge Fight, Wagner - Novelty
Not much to say here. They mostly got their desired results, except I'm sure they would have wanted 1D to win and Matt not to. The flood of novelty acts with the twist led to quite a few leaving early.
Series 8
Boys: Frankie - Alpha, Craig & Marcus - Beta, James - Gamma
Girls: Janet - Alpha, Misha - Strong Beta, Amelia - Beta, Sophie - Gamma.
Groups: The Risk - Alpha, Little Mix - Beta, Nu Vibe - Gamma, 2 Shoes - Novelty
Overs: Kitty - Controversy, Johnny - Novelty, Jonjo & Sami - Gamma.
Messy year obviously. Frankie wasn't good enough, Janet started fighting with the producers, Nu Vibe might have been alpha except for coming into the lives fighting, and The Risk had to be repeatedly re-manufactured. Overs was stacked to make the new judges shine. The goal with Little Mix was just to get them through a few weeks to get rid of the "curse of the girlbands" narrative. Then everything else fell apart around the time they put in a good performance of ET.
Series 9
Boys: James - Alpha, Jahmene - Beta, Rylan - Novelty
Girls: Ella - Alpha, Lucy - Beta, Jade - Gamma
Groups: Union J - Alpha, MK - Beta, District 3 - Gamma
Overs: Carolynne - Alpha, Kye - Beta, Melanie - Gamma, Chris - Novelty
The audience had clued in to the game and was playing counter with the votes, hence the strong runs of Chris and Rylan. Overs collapsed... except for Chris. Ella just wasn't interesting enough week in and week out to hold her position.
Series 10
Boys: Nick - Alpha, Luke - (Strong?) Beta, Sam - Gamma/Judge Fight
Girls: Tamera - Alpha, Hannah - Beta, Abi - Gamma
Groups: Rough Copy - Alpha, Kingsland Road - Beta, Miss Dynamix - Gamma
Overs: Sam - Alpha, Shelley - Novelty?, Lorna - Gamma
Tamera wasn't consistent or likable enough to deliver on her preseason favoritism. None of the acts really caught fire with the public after the show. Otherwise things mostly went to plan. Luke got extra support. I felt they might be taking a flyer on Kingsland Road or Miss D but those never materialized.
Looking ahead to series 11 so far...
Girls: Lola - Alpha or Beta, Chloe-Jasmine - Controversy, Steph: Alpha or out, Anyone else: Gamma
Groups: UK Super Junior - Alpha, Only the Young - (Strong?) Beta, Electric Blonde - Novelty/Judge Fight
Overs: Jay - Alpha, Ben - Beta, ?? - Gamma