Are your real? Rachel was hyped to the max, as was Daniel and his sob story (admittedly he wasn't that good either). She didn't make Ruth a contender either, she was loved on this forum, but she was NEVER a contender in real life.

The show is manipulated to get the winner simon wants. Simon wanted a girl to win last year, this is why Cheryl had the winning act, this year he wants a male to win, this is why Dannii has no act again. Dannii does a good job for her acts, but the show is manipulated so much that Dannii has no chance of getting an act to win

Dannii trying to make Stacey another Leona? Please. Stacey has sung songs out of her range. Granted she didn't always pull them of but at least Dannii took risks with her, not making her a one-trick poney. WWTLF is Stacey's best performance to date and that wasn't because she was singing in a ball gown.

Stacey didn't win and that wasn't because of Dannii, its down to the shows manipulation.


I actully think Simon had the strongest catagory with the overs. Granted Dannii had a very strong catagory with the girls but it was clear from day one that Simon wanted a male to win so the odds were stacked up against her right from the get go. Has Dannii been an excellent mentor this year? Compared to her previous years, probably not but I still think she stands head and shoulders above the rest.

It's not about Stacey not being given songs like her audition song. Danni gave her Keane, Coldplay and Take That. The song the week after Queen week 'Who wants to live forever' was a bad choice and a couple of the other weeks she should have had better known songs. 'Son of a Preacher man' which was the week before Queen week wasn't a good choice.

I think Danni is a bit clueless she got Rachel's image changed too late. She thought that Lucie doing rock chick performances in the early without having connected with the audience would get her to the semi final and further. It didn't work the audience voted in greater number for Jedward who were vocally worse than Lucie but better in terms of charisma and audience connection.

Danni could not bring herself to say last week or tonight that Stacey deserved to be in the top two tomorrow night and was the best act who deserved to win because Danni did not know how to help Stacey deliver anything better than 'Who wants to Live forever' or produce a performance besides her vocals that could match Olly or Joe. Danni knew that Stacey could not beat Joe and Olly in the final so rather than stand up for her act and be humiliated she chose the option of arguing for "glad to be in the final". Danni's last year on the X factor she flunked it.

Scuse me?
Rachel was hyped but even before the firstlive show she wasnt one of the favourites - Laura, Diana, Autin, Alex were all at least above her - Daniel was never likely to win at all from day one, and maybe saying contender is a bit much but Ruth was NEVER thought to go as far as she did - she did awesome.
And she, as I said but you ignored, got two acts to the final 2 which only Simon Cowell has achieved - she always is close to her acts and I think she clearly puts a lot of work into them.

Dannii was great in Series Four, I didn't ignore it, I acknowledged it. What exactly is your point? As much as I love Dannii, this past two seasons her mentoring (not her JUDGING as some seem to mix up) haven't been good. She messed up with Rachel (With Every Heartbeat, Lost In Music anyone?) and she could have had a contender on her hands.

The fact is, she had an act in the singoff every week bar one, which proves how much of a great mentor she is.

Simon, Simon, Simon. Showing yet again you know jack shit about music, comparing a great vocalist like Stacey to a non-singer (one of the "why sing one note when 10 will do" club).....

Simon knows he is to blame for Stacey leaving, because of his manipulation, but is using Dannii as a scapegoat. Nasty man

Wish Simon would stop saying the word 'genuinely' a million times, as there is nothing genuine about the man.

I can't buy that. Rachel just did not connect with the public. Even after changing her image and her doing a great performance with 'one love' the public still could not get behind her. This is why she was in the bottom two for three out of four weeks. It's one of those things. The public like you or they don't. Take Eughoen last year. Vocally average but topped the votes every week because the public liked him.

Last year Dannii was excellent. She managed to get the weakest catagory into week 7. Rachel didn't last because of bad press and a horrible attitude and Ruth lacked the regional vote.

I agree with that.

So much truth in this.

Joe hasn't performed first since rock week which was a very long time ago. He was due to perform first. However Stacey drew the short straw. Added with his obvious desire of a male winner, the odds were stacked up against Stacey and the rest of the girls.

This is why Dannii's acts do not win now, because Simon doesn't want her to win again with one of her acts. It was all about the girls last year, this year it is all about the boys. Dannii is a great mentor and it is not her fault her acts are voted out, it is the manipulation of Simon Cowell and the show

Louis Walsh makes me sick all the nodding dog routine on the Xtra Factor with regard to Robbie Williams duet with Olly being the best on the night. If he didn't think Stacey was good enough to win he should have just said so. To say to Olly "I think you've got the X factor" when he knows Joe is the favourite and likely to win and to say to Stacey and Olly "I hope you're here tomorrow" is just cynical manipulation of the viewers. Danni botched it for Stacey particularly in not trumpeting her tonight as a likely winner tomorow but Louis and Simon got their way and that was to stitch up Danni.

Not singling her out? Really? You did in the opening post. If your intention was not to have a go at Dannii why not use this post as your opening position?

My point is I don't agree that her mentoring is bad, I think she a good judge who gets the most out of her acts in my opinion.
I don't think she messed up with Rachel, Rachel wasn't that good in my opinion so wasn;t surprised when she left. Lucie was the worst rresult but she gave some great performances and Danni had some good songs for her.

The fact also is her acts survived many of these sings off. It's not a fact that Danni is a bad mentor, it's an opinion. Personally I think Louis is the worst mentor but I'm sure others would disagree with that too, its just different opinions thats all

It was about the over 25s and one of Cheryl's boys. Simon stitched up Danyl by trying to get Olly voters to vote for Stacey after Queen week. When all that failed in semi final week Simon turned on Danni Minogue.

I'm not though convinced of Danni's mentoring qualities. She should have given Lucie songs that enabled her to develop a connection with the audience like in her first audition not change her hair and get her singing rock chick songs. A great menotor would have realised that Buble was not the best choice of duet for Stacey given the duets the other two acts had.

Why she could not bring herself to say that Stacey deserved to win particularly after Stacey had sung "Who wants to live forever" tonight is a mystery. It would have been a gamble with the other judges and their acts last songs but it would have been worth the gamble with the viewers. Danni clearly didn't think Stacey was that good not as good as Joe and no better than Olly.

I agree with Simon on this one. I totally had Stacey at the final from her first audition. She was the fun girl, that when singing songs she would make them sound different. The show had many belters (Alexandra and Leona), and trying to make Stacey one of them wouldn't benefit her at any way. Talk about wrong choices of songs for her this year. I liked 'somewhere',''we want to live forever','the scientist' and 'somewhere only we know'. Oh and 'Wonderful world' of course.

Anyway, I think she will go far in the music industry.

And I honestly think that Dannii won't be around next year.
I like her a lot, but I thought the only way she would have stayed in the show is only if she have won with Stace. Now that this isn't going to happen, I think her chances of staying are slim..

Totally agree. I mean George Michael and Robbie Williams?

I would have preferred Kylie as a duet for Stacey. (I love Buble btw, but I didn't think it was a suitable duet for Stacey in the final.) So many good female voices. I mean Alexanda had Beyonce last year. Wasn't Dannii paying attention?

Does Dannii decide on the duets though? I don't think she does. In the end its down to Simon and who he can bag or shall I say 'wants' to bag. That's the impression I got.

IMO Stacey was great with Buble. The duet that suffered was Robbie and Olly who looked like two drunk men at a wedding. Though I did like his other two performances.

This is just not credible. If Danni had given Stacey Keane, Coldplay, Take That songs every week and played to "her strengths" the perfect Mr Cowell would have criticised Stacey for being "a one trick poney who would not win the X Factor because her mentor doesn't experiement with different songs and different types of music that is relevant today". Leona didn't sing the same belters every week in 2006. Simon Cowell's convenient nonsense when it suits him regarding what other acts with other mentors should or should not be singing shows him up every year on the X Factor. Whatever Danni did with Stacey she'd have been wrong by Simon Cowell but of course Simon Cowell never makes a mistake.

Lucie ends in the dance off because given the choice a majority of female voters will vote for an attractive male if the females are not obviously better. Give them Stacey with a bigger story and 5 attractive reasonably good males and Lucie and Rachel can't get votes and you then end up with a single sex final.

I don't agree with you about Simon as per my previous post just now but I do with regard to Stacey's duet although not sure about Kylie. Given that the boys had a male popstar for their duets maybe someone female an edgy like Dido or Duffy should have been paired with Stacey.

Stacey has an amazing voice but she is not a natural performer. It's not Danni's fault Stacey wasn't comfortable doing a dance routine or moving about the stage and thus becoming more rounded as a contestant. It was only when Alexandra sang Candy Man last year (wk5?) and really showed she could dance and sing and do an uptempo number that it became clear she was likely to go all the way. Danni can only work with what she has... I think she did well to get Stacey that far on ballads essentially...

is the right answer.

Simon Cowell made his name through a combination of two things: being unfailingly accurate in his opinions and being unfailingly smug and rude.

He's tempered the latter, at least on his UK shows, and the former has completely gone out of the window.

This tends to happen when you become wildly rich, famous and successful. It can be quite difficult to avoid disapparating up your own ar e.