As i said, it wasnt meant to be a defend Danyl thread, it was more a case that the whole show had taken on a rather nasty and cynical side this year, far more than any other year

Said a lot of what is on my mind about x factor this year

The DM must have very short memories then. I think the press Rachel Hylton got last year was worse than anything that's been dished out this year, and Rhydian was the baddie the year before. Happens every year - every pantomime needs a villain, so the X Factor creates one. If Simon Cowell really wanted people to support Danyl, he'd stop backing him so enthusiastically; he's not stupid, he knows exactly how the standing ovations and so on are coming across. But he doesn't, because he's happy to have all the extra publicity surrounding Danyl.

I don't think there's anything special about this year that distinguishes it from the last few years, so I don't know why that journalist has all of a sudden become disgusted with it!

Thats because you live in Australia. Your not seeing some of the shit which is going on over here...

totally disagree with that, and plus wasn't she a prett 'bad girl' anyway, whereas Danyl seems like a decent guy, school teacher etc. Rachel had had problems and I think stories were run about her past, which I don't agree with, but the press will dig up anything. They aren't digging anything up with Danyl, they're just fabricating (imo) slander against him and it's completely unfair.

Why does Britain love the underdog and hate talent? Why do we cherish mediocrity? It's like in schools where everybody gets a prize just for taking part, there's no motivation to be better. Danyl has got something special, and yet the press hate this and try to turn people against him. We should celebrate him, not attack him!

The thing is Rachel had mugged old ladies, been a drug addict and had her kids taken off her and she wasn't called "worse than Hitler" or accused of the things Danyl has been accused of this year. Danyl on the other hand has had accuations thrown at him (none of which have been backed up with evidence of course) and his "crime" is to a be a school teacher and a person who works with disabled kids!

I know who I think is the better role model and representative of XF

Rhydian of course did take some slack but was portrayed far more as the pantomime villian rather than portrayed as a national hate figure.

I agree that there has been bad press for contestants before, but i dont think it has ever got quite so personal as it has this time. Rhydian had a lot of negative press about being cocky and arrogant and if that is all Danyl had then i wouldnt complain at all. However, this bullying stuff goes a bit farther than that and the character assassination is getting to (not quite yet) the Jade Goody proportions.

I used to love BB but could not watch it becasue of the panto villain aspect to it after the JG/ SS rows as its seem to destroy lives rather than enhance them. Perhaps ive just got sick and tired of press manipualtion and nastiness

me too, i have favourites (danyl) and people i don't like quite so much, but i feel everyone is entitled to their own opinions whatever they may be. People are allowed to ‘hate’ contestants, but I think it’s extremely irresponsible of the media to take it upon themselves to fan the flames. What kind of nation are we where we berate and attack a talented man, for being, erm talented.

Absolutely. i dont particularly like stacey, but not because she is a 'bad mum' or she gets on my nerves, it is because im not too fond of her singing voice. That is personal; taste and that is fine. People may or may not like his voice, but how they hell can we judge a person we dont know to such an extent that i saw one article suggest that he could have been a paedophile!

Yeah, they were digging up a lot of stuff about her past and about her family, including her brother who was accused of murder - that's why I think it was worse than what's happening to Danyl, which seems like relatively trivial, playground stuff by comparison. Rachel had pretty vicious press, and just because some of it was based on (sensationalized, inaccurate reporting of) her past doesn't make it any better. She hadn't been a 'bad girl' for about 8 years, after all!

I agree about Danyl, though. I'm amazed at some of the insults thrown at him when, as far as I can see from watching the live shows, he's one of the better singers and, thank God, has a bit of charisma - unlike the vast majority of the others! It's also very strange that people let personal dislike of who they imagine him to be cloud their judgment of his voice. The others are often out of tune, yet Danyl has a few moments at the beginning of a song where he's a bit off and suddenly he's criticized for being out of tune all the time! Very strange.

Is there anything going on that isn't on the web? I thought all real life happened on the web these days?

he was out of tune at the beginning, for the entirety of the first verse, it was so painful to watch as he couldn’t hear the music and was upset anyway, then lost his way with the lyrics a bit because he was so upset. I just wanted to run onto the stage and give him a big hug!

This piece pretty much sums up how I have felt about it all.

I know in previous years we have had contestants assigned the role of "villain" (one of those eventually became the runner up!) and stuff from the past has been brought up and rehashed.

However, this year, for some reason, there seems to be real malice towards certain acts, the obvious being against Jedward and Danyl. And even putting that aside, the whole press attention this year has felt somehow, more rotten than usual, and I can't really put my finger on why this is. Some may say it is because I am a Danyl fan, but I was also a Rhydian fan and I also rated Rachel Hylton as a singer, and I didnt feel this way then.

If I think about it logically, I actually think its because I am more aware this year, of what has gone on in the press. Previous years, for a start, I was not a member of this forum. I never read the tabloids, or indeed many papers at all, so until I joined here a lot of it probably went straight over my head. The only stuff I really knew came from the show itself, which I watched, enjoyed, and voted for who I liked best on the night.

This year, I still try to do that. However, its somehow tainted. I voted for Danyl last week even though he put in a below par performance, because I felt sick to my stomach at SOME of the comments on here and in the press. Last year, even as my favourite, he would not have gotten any votes from our household based on how he sang last week.

Another thing that has happened, which I find a shame, is that all this has completely overshadowed the other contestants. Basically, any of them could pretty much go on a thieving murderous rampage and it would somehow end up being Jedward or Danyl's fault ! And there ARE some great contestants this year. Lucie is coming along nicely, Joe has shown us he does have a voice. Jamie is terrific, and if anyone is arrogant its him, in the nicest possible way! Olly is turning into a star in front of our eyes. All my opinion of course, but where are all the discussions about this? They are there, but not much noticed.


Unfortunately for me, Innocence once lost, cannot be regained.

so true, especially with all the bear baiting that's going on, disgusts me

What were they called that was worse than being called a bully?

virgins

I stopped reading at "flawless performances". Seriously, there's nothing personal against the guy, I still reckon that his performance of I'm Not Going was one of if not the best performance of the season so far. The guy undoubtedly has great talent, and would deserve to walk the competition if he could be CONSISTENT. Too many times he has either totally ignored the melody of a song or has woefully fluffed the low notes of songs. Everybody hits bum notes, but to sing entire verses out of tune is just not good enough. Now if he could remedy that, I would get behind him for sure.

Also, his mentor is doing him no favours with his ignorant and arrogant attitude towards the public and his fellow judges in regards to Danyl.

The tabloid media are scum, that's nothing new, and I have no time for how they build people up only to knock them down.

Most of the article is obvious comment on the show so far.

There was one small snippet in there that I absolutely agree with though & it concerns the Twins winning.

I really do think they will disappear as fast as they arrived because ultimately what do they do? They "entertain" apparently.

That group that won BGT also entertain but where are they now?

In reality the overall standard of this year's contestants is not up to much so whoever wins could struggle but I think this applies more to the Twins than any other act.

You don't need to defend or explain why you posted the article. Its a great article and I for one thank you for posting it.

Seeing as you asked, performing all around the country and making a film.

The article is nothing more than another attempt at sympathy for Danyl.

Really? Fair play to them.

not at all, it's being honest about an awful situation that he's been in. It's something in the media actually having the balls to say that the treatment of him has been dispicable

In my opinion, and speaking purely as a lover of all types of music, I agree completely with Philip Norman and all of the points in his article. And, as I've said before on DS, I do feel ashamed of myself for being obsessed with this crass program.

It's actually nothing more than most Danyl fans could have written.

Thanks for the compliment.

Its nice to know that the Danyl fans have a reputation for being able to write well.

yeah but nobody in the media has said anything about this yet, it was a true depiction of how a lot of people feel i think (not all people)

the point is that danyl fans can defend him until they are blue in the face on forums but at least someone in the media has registered that this is happening