I'm sick to death of the comments from the judges and fans saying that Christopher's has an excellent singing voice and he doesn't work as an artist because he's singing dated songs.

I'm sorry but even if you took him out of this zone and gave him the most current, up to date, amazing song to sing, the fact is that his VOICE not his style of music, staging, performance or anything like that... it just doesn't cut it. There are so many people on the show saying, "he has a great voice he just doesn't have the whole package, but this is a singing competition so that's why he's still in".

No, even judging them purely on vocals he is not a great singer at all and at the bottom of the pile just above Rylan. His tone is nothing special at all, he has no control over his voice at all, he just shouts. There's no colour in his voice, he sings everything in the same way. No dynamics, no story telling. Nothing. The actual sound of his voice is average in the real world at best, never mind when you put him up against what is supposed to be the biggest singing competition in the country, his voice just doesn't compare.

People are not voting for him because of his voice. And if they are... well I despair for what passes as a decent singer these days.

So what are you actually trying to say?

Agreed. He's not even a standout vocally among this years contestants. Many far more accomplished vocalists have failed to win this show in years gone by.

What I don't understand is if the show "is for all ages"

why on earth is Christopher getting slated each week for being dated???

They let god awful Cher Lloyd do cringey Rap Urban "roots" so why cannot Christopher sing his type of music on the show.

Rylan is an entertainer thats his style etc. What so wrong with Christophers style. I would buy his album.

"Dated" is never a compliment. "Retro" can be and you might apply that to Rebecca Ferguson, for example.

The show is looking for a popstar. Cher fitted that bracket, Christopher does not. That's why he gets criticised. If he did old songs really well or in any way that suggested he might be worth a record deal then he might get praise. But he doesn't achieve any of that. Louis said Maloney is for "Heart FM" - he dreams. Maloney wouldn't get near their playlist.

Giving Maloney a record deal is like giving an iPhone 5 to your cat for Christmas.

We are talking about 2012 though. Christopher is a good singer, not world class but good. He has as good a voice as James Arthur. He has earned his place on the show, never mind all the votes he is getting.

Well whats the point in having an overs selection then. Mary Bryne was well liked and is doing pretty much the same as Christopher yet she was not subjected to this witch hunt of the man.

I do believe Christopher will make some good money after the show. Maybe release a CD and get a few copys sold. Or maybe get a job in the West End. He has like a musical type voice

Just because you're old doesn't mean you have to be out of date and irrelevant. Olly Murs was an over and he'll have another #1 single this time next week.

Mary did get quite a bit of stick and they chose Cher over her in the sing off. In her favour she had the fact that Susan Boyle was huge then, that she was never quite as cheesy as Christopher, that she was far less divisive as a character and that she did give some really good vocal performances.

He's a better singer than Lou Reed.

So are you saying anyone over 30 does not stand a chance. Olly was only like 27 I think??

Quite the opposite. I'm saying that being old doesn't mean you have to be dated and irrelevant. Rebecca was very young but could have been in her 30's and it would still have worked for her. Joe McElderry was young but he was quite old fashioned and dated in some ways. Adam Lambert is now in his 30's, he was almost too old for American Idol. Yet he's far more contemporary than many of their younger winners. Age isn't a guarantee although I'd say it's probably easier if you're young (that's the case for the music industry at large).

In the US, there's an older country guy but for that market it's not really an issue. He's not "dated" as such because he could fit into the current landscape of country music.

Sometimes I think X Factor picks "overs" contestants for the purpose of filling an "oldies" quota and that probably doesn't help. Rather than picking 30 somethings that could just as easily be in the younger categories.

No control over his voice? You're confusing him with Jahmene.

In a bad year singing-wise, he has a good voice, no doubt.

I agree OP. He can sing but he is so dated, it's ridiculous. He's only 34, which is younger than people like Gary, Robbie and many others who still manage to have some relevance to todays charts. Even last nights guest, Alicia Keys, is almost 32 so being in your 30's is no bearing on whether you can still be a credible artist. His biggest problem is that his whole act is that of someone 20 years older and 20 years ago.

Look at someone like Michael Buble. While he's not my cup of tea, he manages to be retro rather than dated. Christopher doesn't have that retro feel, he really is like watching a 50 year old cabaret singer at a Thomson Gold hotel. The market for him is so limited, that he has no chance.

I am beginning to think he will win the show now as a massive FU to Cowell. It won't matter. He'll be shoved in a corner and forgotten about, release a covers album for mothers day and then be quietly dropped, never to be spoken of again. Meanwhile Ella, James, Jahmene and possibly Union J will be the ones who get the promotion and treated like the real winners. If he's lucky, he'll get gigs at Butlins and on 80's nostalgia tours with the likes of Chesney Hawkes.

I don't think Chris is a particularly good singer. I'd settle for 'competent'.

All he seems to be about is singing everything as powerfully as he can, and sustaining end notes so that he can lock into as much vibrato as possible. This may initially impress, but for me the effect quickly wears off, and all his performances start to sound the same because he uses the same approach.

Tonally there's nothing to his voice, other than a touch of crooner richness when he sustains, but by comparison to the tonal quality of Leon Jackson's voice for example, Christopher's voice isn't rich or distinctive in any way.

There's nothing wrong with being a crooner and using vibrato, it's an evergreen voice, but you need to be very good at it. Compare Christopher with France's Herbert Leonard, who's had a recording career dating back to the late 60s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ATAbfgd9Q

How long will Christopher last?

What do people mean by dated exactly? Singing is singing is singing. That is what Christopher is doing. It is a entertainment show and he gets the votes.

Singing will never change from the basis of what it is. Can you sing a note and Christopher obviously can. He is NOT the worst singer in this show. I don't buy into the dated nonsense to be honest. You can be dated in the music industry in 2 years time which is just stupid.

I think the clock starts ticking at about 22 in this business and at 25 it's getting really loud. There are exceptions of course -Dido, The Police come to mind but generally younger equals more chance.

I'm not saying that he's dated, my argument is that just basing them purely on a vocal basis he's not good. Singing is not just about hitting notes.

Rather what I think about james's voice.

Well said. I think there is a world of difference between 'retro' and 'old fashioned'.

Retro is Peggy Lee, Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin. Something with a bit of depth, style and a timeless quality. Old fashioned is Des O'Connor, Max Bygraves and Vera Lynn just past it and worthless.

Modern artists with a retro quality are Rebecca Ferguson, Sade, Rumer, Diana Krall as well as the recents lates like Amy Winehouse, Eva Cassidy. Christopher isn't of that quality. He's cruise ship.

In other words - he sings the lyrics with no feeling. He might as well just sing 'la la la'. and that 'belt' voice he has is just booming and plasticky - no soul.

roound of applause

best post of the day

my cat would love an i phone , he twlitters all day long

Also, I never judge the contestants on who they are as people and if he was the most talented person in there this wouldn't bother me. Obviously we don't know him but I get the impression that there's an awful air of self entitlement surrounding him. I cannot stand it when he comes out with "people are trying to spoil it for me" and the animosity he has towards the judges like they have no right to criticise him. Rylan is also guilty of this too with GB I feel, "if you can't take it, don't dish it out"

You go on this show to be judged do you not?! Obviously no one likes getting criticism but you have to take it on the chin or say something constructive back, not get pissy about it.

... is rubbish!!

Louis says ,,,,,


reality-tv/the-x-factor/118746-xfactor-2012-louis-walsh-blasts-bland-and-boring-christopher-maloney.html