......If that were the scenario next Saturday then I think it would be Cassie to go. Simon said in a YTV interview on Friday evening that he thought it was Cassie`s time to leave the programme. Just because he voted for G4 last Saturday doesn`t necessarily follow he will follow suit this week. I don`t always think they are voting on how well they performed that week; it is also about how far they have progressed as artists.

Of course Simon had to vote G4 - with only 6 acts remaining and the same length show, there was extra air time to fill. If Simon had agreed with Sharon, what would they have done for the last 5 mins. Did you notice how Louis gave his answer at the precise moment which allowed the previously created VT footage of the VWS montage to be shown, in the 2 minute gap. He had a voice in his ear saying 'announce.....NOW' - he had to pretend to diliberate to fill the gap!

......I never thought about that.....but you are damn right, just knew it was all-prearranged

Why would Simon worry about G4 being competition, hes going to sign the winner, so hell make the money out of both G4 and Il Divo.

.......I`m liking that theory........very much indeed

I think Simon called it as he saw it on the night, plain and simple. Yes, VWS were in the bottom two for the third time, but on week 1 I don't think they deserved to be there (and neither did the judges). They should have gone last week with their Bridge over (extremely) Troubled Water, but this week they did really well and wiped the floor with G4.

The person who is the real hypocrite in this is Sharon. She loves their performance on the main show, calling it the best performance of the whole series so far (and so obviously streets ahead of G4). In the sing-off they performed pretty much the same as the main show. So how can Sharon now decide that VWS should be voted out??? I think if Sharon had voted for G4 to go, they may well have gone to Louis as the next judge (thinking he would support his boys) and leave Simon to kill them off.

Simple fact is this - if the judges vote is supposed to be based on who came up with the goods on the night, Sharon is a disgraceful hypocrite. VWS were robbed.

She'd also said on CD:UK nine hours previously that she would vote G4 out if they were in the bottom. This show has shown Sharon in her true colours, and they ain't pretty

......I think they are now moving away from "goods on the night" to long term potential and how they have progressed as artists in the competition, and versatility (......rules Steve out then)

Surely you're talking about Louis' terrible song choices for them and NOT the actual performance from the boys, right? Because, as far as I am concerned they did a GREAT job with what they were given... I mean can you imagine Rowetta or VWS for example, singing Hit me baby one more time and getting away with it? I think not!

.......it was a massive risk by Louis but it DID show their versatility which is now beginning to show some of the other acts up as being "one trick pony" ........so perhaps much as we hated his choices at the time, they are still in this competition and growing so much as artists and progressing.

but this weeks choice was applauded by the majority of G4 fans as far as I could see and yet they ended up in the bottom 2. There's only so much blame you can attribute to the song choice before you maybe have to accept that they're not everyones cup of tea

I'm prepared to forgive Louis this one - I was scared at the time that he was going to subject the boys to cack pop-songs for as long as they remained in the show, which would have been a disaster.

But I think that COL was absolutely the right choice for them this week. They got their chance to shine and they needed it, the TM poll certainly suggests that it's made a few people prick up their ears.

It's always a suprise with G4, no-one knows what they will pull out of the bag next. And so far, they have pulled everything off.

Now, what's in Louis' mind for this week lol!

What's interesting is that the week they sang what has been described by most G4 fans as an 'horrendous choice' they were not in the bottom two and yet when they do an acceptable song they were. Not sure whether that's down to the GBP actually liking the Britney rendition or purely the fact that there were less popular acts on the night and but for the grace of god etc etc....

That they were in the bottom two this week does tend to suggest the latter somewhat.

Dont understand that comment. G4 have never been the bottom two before and Simon Cowell had no influence in eliminating them once the bootcamp started. Before that the judges did not know who they would get so Simon wouldnt have refused to let them through.

I was not happy with it to be honest. As soon as I heard it I knew they'd be in the bottom 2 Yes, their voices were good but they need something bigger. They've had terrible song choices so far and you cannot just choose an average song to "escape" from them. You need something exceptional. And the COL wasn't an exceptional choice. As far as G4 are concerned, because they are so different from the others, they need a good song, in order to appeal to the public and make them change their mind. Once that "good" song is performed by them, I am positive they can win this. So, it's all up to Louis' (not so capable) hands I'm afraid...

P.S. I'd vote loooooooooooooooooooads if they sang "time to say goodbye" (I stress once again: with NO hidden message )

Totally disagree with you there. I thought COL was spot on for this week, and I thought the boy's performance was outstanding. It's something they know and obviously love, and they were really able to shine. I don't really understand why they were in the bottom two, and I hope the tables will turn next week.

To be honest, there are many people out there who will just not like G4 whatever they do, because the operatic style just doesn't appeal to them. I don't think a fab song will change their minds.

Other people who are more open have said that they think G4 were good this week.

G4 are starting to stand out now as the non-one-trick-pony. All credit to them

I thought Simon was playing the game and voted out the stronger option. I also thought he was being bitchy in making Louis choose instead of giving him the easy option.

Yes, he will sign the winning group but I think his ego is much more important to him and winning a competition is his priority.

Could be he was trying to do them a favour. Let's face it, they'd have far more credibility with the type of people who would be likely to buy their material if they DIDN'T win X-FACTOR. I'm not sure it's a tag that any serious artist would want.

I don't really understand this. If it will dent their credibility if they win, what will it do if they lose. It appears some people think that to win a show like the X Factor is bad for an artists credibility, well surely they shouldn't enter the competition then, because to lose is even worse.

Angie xxx

I think winning and being successful and winning and disappearing without a trace is entirely in Simon Cowell's hands. I couldn't stand Michelle McManus and was baffled by the praise heaped on her by Simon Cowell during Pop Idol, I got the feeling he was seeing how far the public would follow his advice to vote her the winner knowing she would not have a sustainable career. Will Young was different, being the first winner of Pop Idol Simon had to carry through his promise to make the winner a "Pop Idol". Similarly X factor is a new venture, Simon will have to ensure the winner has sustainable success or he is going to look as if he has failed his own project.

BTW very amusing comment from Cliff Richard (of all people ) regarding Michelle.

DS article

I think it depends on the artist but that's only my opinion. For someone who appeals to a younger and possibly wider audience I don't think there's a credibility issue. The problem I see with G4 is that despite obviously having a lot of talent they would probably do better career wise singing more classic songs than the stuff they've been landed with thus far. The point I was trying to make is that they could be dismissed by the more discerning listener as 'that lot that won that talent contest'

Yes, possibly, but those same 'discerning listeners' would never hear them if it was not for 'that talent contest' There must be hundreds of very good artists out there that we will never get the chance to hear because they don't get their chance. Surely for that reason X factor and other shows like it are a very good way of getting heard. I know that even if someone wins it is still very hard to become sucessful. But the artists who do appear on these shows must have weighed up the positives and negatives of entering a competition like this. (Well, I hope so anyway!)

Angie xxx

Maybe then it's just a matter of taste. That song didn't do it for me. Not the way they performed it, but just the actual song. I thought they did a great job with it but I'd have prefered them singing something more "well-known". I think Cassie and Tabby were the top 2 cause of their well known songs. If G4 had done Bohemian Rhapsody for example, there's NO way they'd have been in the bottom 2. Another reason they were, I think, is because most of their fans thought they were "safe", going by the judges' comments and the "better" song choice compared to last week. So, they didn't vote as much as they normally would have... I put in my normal 20 texts and 30 calls... but that didn't do the trick this time I see me bankrupt by the end of this... LOL

I meant the first audition. Simon didn't deny them entry through to the next round....and obviously to get through to boot camp.

If Simon had been that worried over G4, wouldn't he have got them out early on?

However, I must admit, I dunno if Il Divo would have been a group that I would have even bothered to listen to if it hadn't been to compare with G4.

Any publicity is good publicity. I still don't think Simon has much to worry about with Il Divo vs G4.

Are you saying that Il Divo will do better overall than G4 when it comes to record sales?

I think G4 will do a LOT better if they sing the right songs in their album.