Am I alone?

While he looks OK, can perform his stuff well, vocally he doesnt bring anything original or different to make him a favourite in any way to me.

Watching him, IMO, he is trying way too hard to be cheeky looking, sickly sweet almost. Last week, Reet Petite was the biggest karoke performance of the show.

He's ok, just not on a level where anyone will care enough in a years time.

I really only rate Misha B to have any potential of a future.

I thought the same thing. He is OK but he doesn't have anything unique.

Nice to know that I am not alone re Marcus, that said, we differ on Mischa, I think her potential has laready been achieved.

It's good to differ.

I just like her but it's a terrible year overall.

Marcus. personality bland, voice forgettable, chances of selling albums none. I am just so indifferent towards him. Just dont care.......

I really like Marcus , but I don't want him to win simply because he'll just be another run of the mill forgettable and inevitably flopping male winner. When I say I like him , I mean he seems like a lovely guy and has a good voice , but for me he's just Matt Cardle mark II. Nice guy, competent voice and made to look better than they are simply because the other acts are sub-par.

I mean it's not co-incidence that in the other thread the majority of Matt fans said their fav act this year was Marcus. I expect them to have similar post-X Factor careers, as I can't see anyone other than Marcus winning.

He's growing on me and I think he's getting better. He can move and sing, not many artists can do that, hence the need for some to mime. I just hope Janet improves, she has lost her way a bit.

I didn't like Matt but Marcus is my favourite of this year's bunch.

I'm glad it isn't just me. Marcus is "good" in the sense that he dances and sings without making mistakes, and he's "nice" in the sense that I've not seen him be horrible to anyone, but he's not "good" in the sense that he does/has anything unique or remotely interesting, and he isn't "nice" in the sense that I really warm to him or find him charismatic. If he wins it will only be because there's nothing wrong with him, but not because there's anything right, lol. I find him so bland and forgettable. I really don't think I'd even recognise his voice on a track, if he wins it will be even more anti-climactic than when Matt won.

Shouldn't we just judge the competition and support the most deserving acts and forget the amateur crystal ball bollocks?

The X Factor's short history shows us that it has failed to discover / produce a top drawer artist to date and on the whole, winners only enjoy as much success as winning the X Factor allows. There is actually some validity in the argument that the reason these people are on the show is that they were previously adjudged not to be worth investing in. We know how the show hand picks its main contestants and it hand picks them from the bin labelled 'promising and / or interesting rejects'. That, we know as fact.

Leona Lewis, Matt Cardle, Steve Brookstein (all winners) and numerous near-winners and total disasters have one thing, above all in common. They were all quite well known in the industry prior to being head-hunted by X Factor. All had been considered, auditioned and duly and perhaps repeatedly adjudged 'not good enough' by shrewd industry professionals. That's a fact.

Back to my point. As none of us here I'm sure are shrewd industry professionals working in an A&R capacity (this would be an absurd place for such a person to bew hanging out), maybe we should stick to judging the acts and supporting the one we think is most deserving of winning the (fixed and not to be taken too seriously) show. Anybody here looking to discover the next global superstar is really not getting it.

Oh yes, and before somebody brings up the old fart who turned down the Beatles, remember that they were picked up soon after and when they were still younger than your average XF finalist. If the X Factor ever discovers and unleashes an act half as good as the Beatles, I'll eat my laptop and revise my position totally.

I have in the past and it's not nice... that's why I find it so hard to take in the "Marcus love" when you've experienced "the dark side of the dark horse"...

I think he's quite good, but I wouldn't be upset if he was eliminated.

I much prefer Little Mix and Kitty.

Completely agree. I think that unless he is killing it on the vote (which I can see him do after Louis comments) the producers will try to sabotage him. They must know by now that his chances of success post X factor are around 1%.
I find his voice so un special, very shouty and his performances too karaoke and too polished.

I love him. He's really talented, but can I see a future for him in the music industry? No. I think he'd be absolutely fantastic in theatre though - he's brilliant with choreography and his vocals are always good despite energetic routines.

Sorry not to agree with the tone of this thread.

I like Marcus. I think he'll go far and he's my winner this year whether he wins or not. He could be the first boy/man winner to break the mould. No one is asking those who don't like him to like him but the boy has actually grown in the competition , came from being a non-entity to being favourite. It's because he has the X-factor, he has an okay voice but he has everything else; charisma, talent, personality.

I think people who don't get him are looking at this competition the wrong way. The X-factor is not about finding another global superstar, these competitions never do (with the exceptions of Leona Lewis and Kelly Clarkson).

I also hate that the back handed compliment that people use that he would be great in musical theatre. Nothing wrong with that style of work but Marcus is a pop star. We don't know what his style is yet, and of course some of his performances may come off as karaoke but when you are doing cover versions sometimes that happens but Marcus can perform and that's what its all about.

I am not going to convince people at all and am not trying to but I think there is more to come and once we know what style he is then people can better informed.

Marcus strikes me as someone who will never have a career as a solo act. He'll always be a boy band singer. He's like a less attractive and less talented version of Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys).

I agree with most of the comments here.

Marcus tries very hard to be cheeky, jolly and likable. And hey, it's seems to be working - he's still there. And now Louis is predicting him and Janet for the win.

But Marcus won't break the mould of recent winner flops ( if he does win). I think he is well in that mould. As others have said he's competent, rather than good. He's professional but his voice is just indistinguishable from other singers.

After he sang Reete Petite and said "I know who I am now" I thought 'Yeah, Mr Showbiz. Cabaret, theatre, show tunes. Not record sales, albums'.

Of course the fanbase will be quite supportive on here. Someone even said he reminded them of Alexandra Burke (??) but that support will not transfer into record sales.

Personality bland? Do you actually watch his VTs? He owned the stage last Saturday! What? Would you rather he had the personality of Frankie?

That is the most random and unlikely comparison I've ever head. And really, less attractive than Nick Carter? Not unless we've suddenly jumped back in time to 1998.

There's nothing random about it. Nick Carter tried to go solo and failed. Marcus was a member of Eton Road and will fail to have a successful solo career. Not everyone can do a Justin Timberlake and Marcus certainly isn't one.

And Nick Carter still looks amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9n3aZ1OjQA

I like Marcus but I think all we are seeing is evidence of his willingness to do anything he is told.

I think that what's missing from all of his performances is a connection with the track. If they would only let him sing something that he really connects with and feels comfortable with then I think he would steal the show.

This is assuming of course that he can really connect to a song!

I do not think he can emotionally connect fully, there is nothing about his vocals that would make him distinctive enough.

His performances are like halftime shows to me. I'm just too indifferent to even bother thinking if I liked them not. They're just there.

Have any of the contestants emotionally connected to a song this year? I haven't seen it.