Serving popcorn?

It's a case of which act is the most marketable when the show is over. It's quite obvious that as One Direction has done better than Matt so far, they were the most marketable.

You might be watching it as just a talent show wanting your favourite to win, the record label is more concerned about what happens when the show is over. If it was just about producing a good entertainment show the winner will get a cash prize and everyone will go their separate ways.

But don't forget Joe has actually done very well for himself away from SYCO

actually i'll answer my own question: the "mum" vote - 45 year old cougars who were like OMG HE'S SO SEXY!! (even though he's not tbh even Marcus is better looking than him!) and old grannies who were like "bless him! he touches my soul with his lovely music!"

that's true. Syco usually screws up with male winners. They give them at least 5 cover songs on their albums, I'm not sure if Matt's has any covers though. Joe's first album was dreadful if it wasn't for popstar to operastar he would still be living with his mum in South Shields. That basically saved him.

I really think the Americans would 'totally get' Misha.

The male winners ie Joe and Leon flopped because of the material and lack of promotion + the lead singles as well.

Syco seem to think waiting a year helps - however this has been prooved wrong time and time again. Yes it worked with Leona (or was that down to the song?) and it worked with Alex.

Whoever wins is going to have the winner flop tag regardless if they have a penis or a fanny.

It p!ssed me off how poster just assume as someone is male they will flop yet obviously a female will be successful. The fact that Leona's come backs have all done nothing shows that this may no longer be the case - same with Alex - had a good year, but has done nothing of merit for a while now.

Are people honestly too stupid to realise that the crap material Leon, Joe and Matt were given majorly contributed to their "flops" (Matt Cardle's album sold okay tbh) - not because they are male.

Leon flopped because he released a swing album just when the retro phase was dying out. Plus he was made out to not be good enough by Simon and the press. How many times was it said that Rhydian was robbed?

Joe flopped because of the terrible marketing. Releasing an up-tempo pop record worked for Alexandra because it looked natural. Joe's fanbase from XF were ballad-lovers - they wouldn't buy into him going up-tempo.

Matt's lead single flopped because it was terrible, dull and lacked any sort of airplay. It has been said many a time that RFYL was the worst song from his album.

Marcus has absolutely nothing in common, musically, with the previous male winners. He's a commercial sort of artist. He does up-tempo effortlessly and he can belt out the ballads and he's extremely likeable and talkative (unlike Joe, Matt and Leon). He's similar to Olly Murs, except he's actually got a great voice.

Eh? Leona's second album went straight to #1 , and she's getting top 5 hits with virtually no promotion. And she broke records with Run, a year after Spirit. She was never going to match up to the insane success of Spirit but it is rather incorrect to say 'Leona's come backs have done nothing'.

Leona has an established fanbase , who have connected to her through her talent. That's the crux of why the male winners do not do so well, their wider fanbase is fickle and move on by the time the next cute male comes along. I don't see Marcus any differently to be honest, especially since his voice sounds so dated.

Ra Ra Ra - still living on her glories of 3-4 years ago - she is nowhere near as popular as she once was and her 2nd album had severely reduced sales - her next album has been pushed back to try and record new material due to the flop of collide - yes she has a fanbase, but it is reducing with each release.

I was simply contesting your claim that her comebacks have 'done nothing' since I already said it was always going to be difficult for her to match up to the success of Spirit. And she's has still managed to maintain a career despite the poor management of it. Relying solely on her talent.

Anyhow , if Marcus manages to be achieve even half the success Leona has had in her 'flop comebacks', I shall be very surprised. Toodles.

I thijnk he gets first refusal on all the acts though and they'er all signed up until after the tour anyway

Yeah I think Misha would be a bigger hit over there than over here tbh as Americans tend to like that kind of music more than we do

On one hand, yes, Little Mix seem like the most obviously commercial act. It makes sense for Syco who don't have a girlband just now and it would be good for the show to have a group win rather than just another 16-24 male. But good as Little Mix are, girlbands are really tough business just now.

Parlophone (EMI) had The Dolly Rockers. Island had The Sugababes. Polydor/Fascination had Girls Aloud and made a big push to expand that success with The Saturdays and Girls Can't Catch. Another Universal offshoot, Geffen, signed Mini Viva. They had Xenomania behind them, their label was run by the guy who oversaw Take That's comeback and they were managed by Simon Fuller. But the only ones still standing are The Saturdays and even they aren't selling well at all.

That might mean that there's a gap in the market (as JLS exploited a few years ago) or maybe there just isn't a market at all? I think making a girlband work could be difficult.


I think they've got options to sign them all regardless of where they finish.


Leon released an album that reflected, roughly, what he did on the show and was targeted squarely at the middle aged female market (who most likely won him the show). I seem to recall Michael Buble doing great business in 2008 (or was it 2009?). But then again, that's the issue. Michael Buble or Leon Jackson?

I'd agree that the fact he was widely seen to be a poor winner hampered his chances (a bit like Kris Allen in the US).


Joe did the opposite to Leon - he tried to release something on trend and compete in the pop market. In order to do this, they needed to manufacture everything about him - there was nothing to seize on to market. He had an album in him but it was a Mother's Day release full of covers, not a mainstream pop record.


Matt actually got good airplay for his first single, IIRC. It wasn't the best but he's doing alright, I guess.

Really?

I would say in the wider scheme of things Misha and even some respects Janet and Amelia are way more commercial viable than LM.

I know due to the Sats flopping, GA still in limbo and every other girl group stalling and flopping there is a gap in the market... but it may just be that the charts are once more moving on to something different.

Agreed, but I hardly think Little Mix are going to add very much to Cowell's fortune!

Perhaps poor wording on my part, I was thinking among potential winners - so really just between Marcus and Little Mix!

But I don't think Misha or Janet will sell in big numbers. In fact, I'm not sure Sony will sign Janet at all. And if Misha gets signed she'll be the least popular contestant to ever get a Sony deal. There has to be some sort of connection between artists and their record buying public and I think Misha, rightly or wrongly, has lost that over the weeks (or never had it in the first place). I also don't think she's such a great talent that she can overcome that.

Amelia is a possibility. A kind of pop rock route might work for her - she has a good voice and looked the part at her audition (hate the pink hair!).

I think the final will be Little Mix vs Marcus vs Amelia. I think Syco will sign Little Mix and pick up options on the other 2 - perhaps assigning them to other Sony UK labels.

There's the potential for Little Mix to do really well if there is a gap in the market out there. But equally, it's possible that there is no market and they'll go the way of the other girlbands. I can see why Syco might want to try, though. I think they've got a chance.

Going by your logic no group has ever won either so it won't be the girls.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This !!!

It's well known that once it becomes known who Simon is backing campaigns are got up to make it anybody but who he wants as in RATM campaigns of past

No-one described by Simon as 'the one to beat' has won the competition.

His track record it not so good, Gareth Gates and 1D did not win, when he hyped it up week in week out, especially with Gareth. So I take what he knows with a pinch of salt, see he has waited til only 4 left to say anything at all, stupid man.

Leona?

In that year Simon said that Ben was 'the one to beat'. This was before the final of course!

Aren't N-Dubz having a break and then eventual split?

If so, that's where Little Mix is filling. Urban, light-grime, pop.

Yes, but they have a million Misha's in America.

If there was ever an act from the X factor I would say the Americans would totally go for, apart from Leona of course, it would be Rebecca Ferguson.
Her style is very different, the reason Americans fell for Amy Winehouse.
Misha is not going to give them anything they haven't got already.