Ovations that have been devalued by the carry on on this year's show.

When you consider that a standing ovation by Simon on AI is almost as rare as hen's teeth (two in the show's history) it was really quite embarrassing to see him act as if someone was sticking a hot poker under his seat after almost any of the over 25s performances on XF this year. To be honest, only two performances in this year's XF came close to deserving the standing ovations they got and neither of them were by over 25s (and neither of them were by Lucie or Rachel).

I agree with you about Lucie's MFV compared to Melissa's. Melissa was by far Simon's favourite in the competition that year and, even so, he didn't give her far superior version a standing ovation.

The other judges on AI seem honest to me. Simon seems biased and seems to be playing mind games to influence the viewers to mess with the heads of the contestants he has, for some reason, taken against. He'll make little digs that undermine their confidence or get them worrying about or trying to "correct" things they should leave alone. And when he goes on about how great a performance is, it's just not believable.

Trying to squeeze in references to incomparable performances from completely different shows is really rather lame, as is attempting to move the goalposts. You said; "There were hardly any great performances in the whole series let alone superb." Whether Simon Cowell stood, remained seated or attempted to break the world record for pie eating is completely irrelevant. I didn't care for Listen, because it's a dull song regardless of who may be singing it. And you've not said which interpretation of Summertime you were referring to, either. But if you meant the Leona Lewis version, then that was quite a chore to endure, too.

Your "considerably higher than the much revered Ms Minogue" comment is petty, biased hogwash, and will remain so whether your "6m" prediction proves accurate or not.

That would be the "5.74m number" I looked on the BARB database, as it goes.

I've already said that Lucie's MFV wasn't particularly good. The issue being discussed was Cowell's varying standards when giving standing ovations so it's quite relevant.


My 6m prediction was inaccurate. It came out at 6.62m. Now, I'm not sure about you, but a difference of 25% is "considerably higher" as far as I'm concerned. Dannii is much revered on here and there is a considerable difference in the ratings. I really don't see the issue in the comment especially in the context of discussing differences between forum opinion and actual public interest.

http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyT...sOverview?_s=4

Sorry, but I rate performances on merit, rather than by which judge they're mentored by. By whom? I quoted you because I disagreed with your assertion that "There were hardly any great performances in the whole series let alone superb." Cowell isn't at all relevant to the point, as I very much doubt anyone uses his response as a barometer for the quality of performances.

I don't think it's "considerably higher" at all, given (as I said originally) his supposed status and the amount of publicity his interview had. He's effectively Mr. ITV right now. Dannii judges and mentors on XF. He does the same, judges on BGT as well and owns both formats to boot, not to mention AI on ITV2. Some serious questions would've needed answering had his interview not pulled in more punters than Dannii's. None of this alters the fact that she's the only judge with even an ounce of integrity, in any case.

Considering the performances compared to previous series, X Factor 6 was widely regarded as a poor year for talent. IMO, it doesn't say much for the series if Lucie's MFV was seen as one of the best.

Cowell is relevant to the thread topic and I noted that he was being less honest with his own contestants on X Factor UK in recent years and that for some reason, the judges seemed to be getting on their feet more in the latest series despite a lower standard of talent.

Personally I think the best we got from that series was Jamie Archer - Hurt and Miss FRANK's - Thats Life.

Even if it was considered the worst series of the lot, it doesn't automatically follow that there weren't any good performances. But opinions are subjective. Mention Leona Lewis here, and it's virtually guaranteed to result in page after page of posts singing her praises. I find her voice discordant.

Yes, he's relevant to the thread as a whole. But his response isn't relevant to the point when considering whether a performance was good or not. I like the fact that Dannii is prepared to do her job description justice. And it was necessary last year too, with Cowell quite blatantly over-praising his own acts - yet seldom having anything positive to say about hers despite the fact that they frequently left his for dead.

I much prefer to hear what Kara has to say this year. I don't find myself agreeing with a lot of what Simon says.