IMO I think it can work one of two ways

1) Sypathy vote - many people will see the story as complete tosh and vote for him out of sympathy

2) No smoke without fire - lets be honest there is so much manipulation on the show, nothing would surprise the lengths SC will go to cause controversy in the pursuit of making more money. This will obviously harm his chances.

Either way it is a shame as it will be used as an excuse if he wins or loses but will at least give SC more column inches which is what he craves, Job done.

Wont make a jot of difference. He will be forgotton and history within six months anway ! Ask Joe McElderry.

It will hinder him. The British public are very cynical and even though they may not believe the claims, they may still think that Ronan is getting favourable treatment.

Help!

I wouldn't be surprised if Simon didn't do it himself. He loves controversy, it gets people talking. I'm pretty sure he brought back Michael Moral to get all the patriotic types to be up in arms about the fact he wasn't British. He's a manipulative but very cunning business man. He doesn't give a shizz about the public

The extra attention will help him get extra votes, so it might help him to win. However, the ridiculous coverage along with the doubt being cast over him, will damage what credibility he may have had as a contestant, which will damage his longer term prospects.

Overall though, the allegations and over the top denials will serve to boost ratings, and will result in extra phone votes for and against him, so Simon will definitely benefit from it.

IMO, kids of that age shouldn't be allowed on the show, at least not as solo acts. If they want to include children's acts, they should create a second show, that has a lot less hype, more protection for the contestants, and aired as a spin-off on children's tv.

It helps him enormously. He's front page news, he has national profile, it's a deliberate manipulation. People vote for who they know, not who is best. The one exception is when it comes down to the final 2 there may be a cynical stop Cowell type element / underdog vote as happened with Diversity.

i think hinder, just like it did with subo

Is that meant to read, "you wouldn't be surprised if Simon did it himself"? Simon likes and courts controversy but I can't see him being behind this, its pretty damning.

I didn't believe Simon last night when he said it was all lies. He appeared to make a slip up when he spoke about the first time he met Ronan.

Will this affect Ronan's chances of winning, of course it will. We know the producers of these shows manipulate events to suit themselves. When its done subtly we tolerate it, but we've just had it rammed down our throats. Its too much to stomach.

I kind of feel sorry for the kid. Even if that blog was 100% true, he isn't to blame. The blame would lay with the parents and Syco.

Hinder, i can only hope.

Who?

Hopefully people will vote based on his talent not tabloid rubbish. I feel sorry for him, he is only a kid and the usual nastiness is coming his way just because he is one of the favourites.

What if his voice breaks between now and the RVP in December?

Hinder like Subo. Which means Razy might win this thing.

Won't make a blind bit of difference. If people like Ronan, they'll vote for him, regardless of any stories in the news.

Maybe for all those who vote for him out of sympathy due to the controversy there'll be those who decide not to vote for him due to being suspicious about the possible manipulation. So I guess the two sides may cancel eachother out.

I don't think he'll win though, and I hope he doesn't, this dog-eat-dog business is already showing its teeth and he hasn't even won yet. Too soon me thinks.
And quite frankly, what's so appealing about a 12-year-old boy singing.

The very fact Cowell's lawyers have gone to the police about the matter speaks volumes to me - and should do to anyone with half a braincell.

That's what I think.

He "can't" really win now, if he does, then many will say, "see it was fixed" !

It probably won't. He's 12, and considerably smaller than A&D, neither of whom are tall themselves..

My thoughts exactly, it has all been set up by Cowell to garner extra publicty, which it has. I think the general public are becoming more cynical and can see how they are being manipulated by Simon. The poor kid is now damned if he wins or if he doesn't .

^^^ thats a good point, either why he's lost. ~If he wins people will claim 'fix', if he doesnt he looses anyway

In answer to OP question. I go with scenario 1), very strongly. Some will believe the claims but I would say a large percent are too cynical to vote on this anyway, His fans will vote for him MORE worrying that this story has cost him the chance of winning. Plus extra people will feel bad for him, particuarly after Cowell named this a 'smear campaign'... that will get people dialing - a 12 year old being subject to a smear campaign thats not nice is it...
Im pretty positive about this.

Maybe ronan will pull out and the singing dog will take his place.

[quote=duncann;50549755]It helps him enormously. He's front page news, he has national profile, it's a deliberate manipulation. People vote for who they know, not who is best. The one exception is when it comes down to the final 2 there may be a cynical stop Cowell type element / underdog vote as happened with Diversity.[/QUOTE]

I think it's possible that Simon arranged for Diversity to win, but in this case I think it was a good move. Subo didn't need anymore media attention, she was well on the way to being a star. Simon ended up with two winners, so a win/win situation all round.
I think the one who wins tonight will be the one that the audience get behind, they will be manipulated to make the most noise for the one who Simon wants to win.
I suspect that Stephen Hall got put through because of the audience chanting his name - probably started by friends & family and the rest joined in The reason, I suspect, being that Simon didn't want too many singers in the final.

I wondered the very same / Was the whole thing set up so Cowel could refute it and thus everyone is talking about the 12 year old boy .

I don't think Simon did it - bu he will definitely turn it to his advantage.