No I agree with you. There has never been this much hatred towards any contestant until this year.

That last comment is sad but true.
If this was America he would be cheered to the rafters. They love a confident pull-out-the-stops performer.

My thoughts exactly...couldn't have said it better!!

I am beginning to think that all the anti -danyl's (and by that I mean those that are nasty just for the sake of it, and are willing to believe all the bad and none of the good, NOT those who just don't like his singing or performing style, or just can't warm to him as I couldnt to Rachel) are actually doing him a favour.

I think Danyl would actually have less chance of moving forward in the competition if everyone sat down, shut up, and commented on each act based on their performance and singing ability. Because whilst I think he is brilliant, he is outdone by others sometimes, and he outdoes them on occasion. This would apply to John and Edward as well, although to a lesser degree, because they are entertaining if not great at this old singing lark!

All this hatred towards Danyl DOES garner him the sympathy vote from some quarters. And whilst last week, even as my favourite, in normal circumstances, no way would I have voted for him over some of the others - because of the fact that people can be just plain nasty about him, I voted for him a lot more! He didnt do well this week, but as far as I was concerned, after the absolutely vile comments I have seen, not only in this forum, but elsewhere, he could have stood up and read out a poem and I would STILL have voted for him.

After all, when all is said and done, they are all real people. And yes, they have put themselves in the public eye. But this isnt Big Brother, where people are voting for the best personality. Its supposed to be about the performing.

Time we got back to that, isnt it?

What singing skills? I keep hearing people talking about Danyl's phenomenal voice, but I've yet to see or hear any evidence of it. Thus far his performances have been pretty forgettable from a vocal perspective. I actually think Joe, Lucie and Olly have better voices and have delivered (thus far) more consistant performances than Danyl.

If Danyl was constantly delivering top-notch performances, I could understand people getting upset on his behalf, but he really hasn't been delivering.

I suppose that all depends on whether he's strong enough to put the three pronged attack on his character by the media, the judges and all those lovely people out in cyberspace, behind him and put in some confident performances that won't be misconstrued as arrogant or cocky.

I agree with you that they,seemingly,have it in for Jamie and DAnyl.

Well I am sure he will survive - he is at least smiling now.;*

My thoughts exactly! The article is so biased it's almost hilarious!

I agree, the game is all too obvious.

I agree with the above but sadly it is way too late for that now.

Nice sentiment though

I don't rate the guy, never have. Doesn't take away from the point I made, especially about the point that Jedward have not exactly had an easy ride. But, as that was not Danyl, that wont matter, will it?

As to vilifying, when I start talking about Danyl like this:


and


then you can pull me up.

The whole x factor is now a circus orchestrated by simon - he controls the papers etc and controls the programme - he wants everyone watching and talking about x factor which to be fair he has got. The talent aspect of the show does not seem to matter - people here have said voted for danyl l ast week despite a poor performance - and by doing so playing right into simon's hands. People vote for the twins despite them not actually singing! Meanwhile the people with talent get overlooked

This article should have been written a few weeks ago when the abuse against Danyl started. I gave up reading it half way through:yawn:

Awful article, quite typical of the Daily Mail with their campaign to ram this depressing, pessimistic idea of Broken Britain down our throats again.

Danyl has been unfairly treated by the press, not the show. It's they who choose to run entirely speculative stories about him terrorising the other contestants than something substantial - like the fact that he is hopelessly tuneless.

I'm sure he or any other contestant can take some criticism from the judges, but it's the hate campaigns that papers like the Daily Mail and the Star create and foment which are truly damaging to the mental well-being of these people in the public eye. You saw it with Susan Boyle, you saw it with Rachel from last year - it even goes back to the way they abused the likes of Stephen Gately.

I'm disgusted by the tabloid media of which Phil Norman is a part of, not X-Factor. Time for them to take a long hard look in the mirror, I'd say.

Yes, they do, but they don't like someone who consistently sings out of tune and who is hyped above the level of his talent. Why do you think they didn't take to Danyl when his auditioned was seen? His audition was the type and level of performance that Simon has villified contestants for on American Idol time and time again over the years.

I see my comment made early this morning is not on there. I wouldn't mind if it had been offensive in any way but all it was was not in keeping with the bash the twins and love Danyl sentiment of the piece and of the comments that have got on there.

I have to say I was not happy to go and read this, as the paper annoyed the hell out of me with that nasty woman printing a nasty attack on Stephen Gately the day before the poor guy was buried. But I have read it, and for me he is not bigging up Danyl he is knocking the concept of this show, or what it has become and I agree with most of what he says.

The sad part is that while all this goes on, attacks, vile posts on websites, newspapers printing stories with no evidence to back them up the other contestants have faded into the background, but is that what Simon wants, as neither the twins or Danyl are who SC wants to win this show, that place I think goes to Ollie. So while everyone gets cross and debates become wars on here and other places, Ollie and others are sailing quietly through this contest just as Simon wants. What stories have there been about Ollie NONE to my knowledge, other than he is the fav with the bookies.

I dont think he wants Jamie to win as he has no idea what to do with anyone remotely rock.

Dannii making the obvious mistake week one with a joke no one really got if they had not read anything about Danyl, as I had not, opened the gates to a full on attack the next week by Louis and Cheryl. Simon has played his part as the pantomine baddie being nasty to the twins as he knows it gets peoples backs up and they will then vote for them, it is working, and the opposite can be said for Danyl as he is bigging him up to have him as the fall guy, very sad to think a man can be so ruthless, he is playing with peoples lives and if anyone thinks he really cares I think they are mistaken.

Pop Idol was not the same, they did not mentor the contestants, the show was on during the week, with you being able to get to know the contestants much better, watching them play snooker springs to mind during pop idol two, going to a spa in pop idol one, the press used to turn up on the show mid-week as well as I know one of them who did, and they chatted to the acts, it was all far more civilised than this show.

Now I think that was due to it not being about the judges, which this show seems to have become about, even down to the dresses Cheryl has on, no one I remember mentioned what Pete was wearing or Foxy or Nikki, yes SCs high trousers became the joke but it really was not like the X factor.

They used to change seats as well, and no one batted an eyelid, so the focus has changed since then, and for me that has not enhanced the show it is part of what is ruining it.

It is a sad world we live in when some nutter can liken a guy they don't even know to being more hated than Hitler, and Simon has not even come out and said anything about it, which is a total disgrace, as I believe had anyone said that about Darius Pete and Foxy would have gone nuts, and they would have had something to say about it, I can just imagine Foxy on his radio show being outraged by something like it back then.

The producers decided to put it in the VT did they not, WHY, as some people who do not read the internet would not have known about it, surely they are flaming the fire of hatred not trying to dampen it down which is where this show reaches it lowest of low.

The treatment of the twins with all the booing, now I went to a live show when G4 were in the contest, and believe me you were warned more than 10 times NO booing, you were told to make as much noise as possible it was deafening but NO booing. So why have they let that carry on this year, why have people not been thrown out of the studio, because it is a pantomime and they think it all adds to the "thrill" of the show, well it is not supposed to be a pantomime it is supposed to be a talent contest and I for one have been really upset that people can sit and boo two young lads on a stage who were put there by the judges and are being kept in by the public, and who have also had a hate campaign but not as personally attacked maybe as Danyl, against them.

The problem I see is that while the viewing figures keep shooting up and the voters keep picking up their phones and voting even more Simon is rubbing his grubby little mits together at the expense of the feelings of the some of the acts on the stage, which is disgraceful, it is now hyped to the hilt and the losers are the ones on the stage every single one of them right now, as winning this show is not a route to long term stardom (other than for Leona who was planted on the show imo) it is route to probable disaster and being back doing the day job 10 months down the road.

GG (and thank you for the link to this story, and lovely to see people not bashing anyone up, a pleasant debate is nice to see).

A ridiculously biased piece of writing.

I guess were all as bad as each other all the people who don't like Danyl tend to believe the bad press think its right and when there is nice press about him its biased or wrong.

As for the article I think it right it is more nasty this year. The Twins and Danyl have had so much crap thrown at them more then any other singers in X Factor history.

And then of course there are those (like me) who ignore the tabloid media and have genuine reservations over Danyl. That article lost it with me once they described his performances as flawless. That is just a bare faced lie. I think Danyl (and maybe Lucie) are the only ones who have any chance of being global superstars. However with Danyl it's consistency that he's lacking. Everyone hits bum notes but when someone sings entire verses out of tune that's just not right. If he can get some consistency together I will gladly support him. The problem is with Simon, he's giving him songs that just don't suit his voice throughout it, just so he can do the big climatic note at the end. It's farcical.

This I agree with. When you listen to his original stuff there is not one big note that I have heard.

Why Simon thinks its his thing, I really do not know!

You were the one who linked that original material weren't ypu? I hate to admit it (because it proved me wrong, he can sing, Simon is just being a fool), but I thought his songs were good.

Looks like the article could have been written by Simon himself.

Yep, that was me.

I wasnt trying to make more people like him, just prove that his natural tendency is not towards the leaping around, mess with song, one big note stuff that Simon has him doing.

I dread to think what will happen this week.

Last week I liked Olly and Lucie best. Am I allowed to say I am weirdly looking forward to the whole "Ghostbusters" fiasco?

More discussions like this are whats required to bring the X Factor back down to earth!