X factor is on the wane. Why are most of us sitting down looking at this website with the show on in the background if its any good?

The judges can pretend there is talent on the show but there is not. James is mediocre, Chris is average (despite the manipulation) and Jharmein is OK but not exceptional. But the series is a failure. If they wanted to identify a recording artist why are Chris and James in the final? If its a showman they want why is Rylan not? If its a good voice why is Chris being slagged off while Rylan is being promoted even tonight?

Cowell has made his money and should cut his losses and move on.

I agree with you i would rather any day to listen(and look at) Gary than that balloon faced, narcissistic who is just an hypocrite, the low rating is only due to the lack of talent and people are just fed up of the programme, it is now stale, people are bored to tears of it(me included)

Apart from the show being a bit tired, Cowell is pissed off that Gary Barlow got an OBE and he hasn't got one, and he can't buy it. It is supposed to be a talent show, so find real talent. Change the format a bit, give joe public a seat on the judging panel.

Exactly, Barlow has been awful this season but ratings are down as this has been a very poor year talent wise, IMO.

I don't think it's fair to blame any of the judges tbh. The show has become a bit tired, thats Simon and the producer's fault. They've kind of exhausted the country looking for 'talent' and as a result contestants who wouldn't have got past bootcamp when the show was at its peak made the final 12 this year. Maybe rest the show for a year or two and re-think things then.

I agree it isnt the judges fault, its just the talent has been very poor this year.

That other man can only be Mr Robbie Williams!!!!!!!!!!!

Robbie will liven up the show!

He is also in need of something to make himself 'relevant' again since being banned from radio 1 !

However, I've warmed to gary since he stopped his fake act.

Its louis who is the boring one now... ZZzzz

However, it is not the judges which have made the show crap.

IT IS THE PRODUCERS !!!!
they have done the same to BGT.

They need to stop the TOWIE style backstage crap,
The need to stop playing generic chart music loudly over peoples auditions.
They need to show more auditions.
They can try to be less obvious when it comes to who their favourites are.
They can stop cynically trying to manipulate the public via the media.

I also think this show is destroying Dermot.
All the mans personality and cheeky persona is ebbing.

Agreed. I've defended Louis in the past since I do believe the show needs a 'joke judge' - but Louis really has outstayed his welcome now. He just repeats the same old cliches week after week :yawn:.

i dont blame Gary Borelow but he is a tosser who is to far up his own arse and proven himself to be a terrible judge of singing talent

Nothing to do with Barlow its all down to the way they have screwed around with the show.If somethings not broken dont fix it.Its all Cowells own doing

Spot on,get rid of Louis and replace him with Keith Lemon and also replace Tulisa with Edna from Emmerdale.Get rid of Nicole and bring back Simon and you have the ultimate panel.

basically gary was the big thing last year, he was going to save the series.

but it hasn't really happened and now gary is expendable.

I agree with all of that except the last line.

Let's face it, everyone is expendable to Cowell - from the judges to the hosts to the acts he signs up for one album to cash in for a quick buck. All Simon's ever been bothered about is the headlines the show creates, so, yes, Gary probably has taken the whole thing a bit too seriously thinking it was a singing contest.

simon wanted rid before this series began and itv rehired him regardless. the ratings have further dipped and of course simon is now gloating that he was right initially. its unfair to blame gary entirely for the rating situation, but he is not compelling viewing and the contestants don't seem to respect his opinion like previous contestants did with simon.

the talent pool is drained with too many formats all looking for the next big thing and that is the main issue now. however, the panel is uninspiring compared to other talent panels and someone probably should go. it wouldn't surprise if simon does have someone else in mind, i just hope they`re able to secure a big name that will entice better talent to the show.

I really like Gary as a judge and think it is unfair to scapegoat him. He has credibility because of his own career and I find him pleasant and interesting to watch. I've enjoyed Louis until this series when he has talked in shallow cliches ALL the time! So he should be replaced perhaps. I dislike both Tulisa and Nicole and wish they would be dropped.

yes exactly helen. all simon cares about is the bottom line, whether his bank account is accruing or not. very little else he cares about.

Yeah, Frankie and Maloney were proper talented singers.

Gary is alright it's not his fault it went tits up. The talent hasn't been that great, you just have to look at the final two to see that. They should get rid of Tulisa and Louis. Tuilsa should never have been a judge is the first place, this year was a depressing lazy judge. Louis is a joke. Nicole has been a revelation she has been awesome.

Gary does take it too seriously though. He admitted at the beginning of this series that he was too uptight in the previous year but then did nothing to address that.

Why would you want to get away from the show when it is easy pay. The X Factor judges really don't do much at all. The reason the ratings are down are pretty simple. People are sick and tired of the same old boring cliches, the blatant bias against certain acts and the manipulation used to favour others and discredit others.

It is what it is I suppose, just fluff TV but really if they want the ratings to go up, they need to cut that out. Get rid of Louis for starters. He has become a parody of himself.

The Tulisa point is the key one. Tulisa if anyone should get sacked because she has been dreadful. She neglected Ella so much by basically saying something along the lines of "Ella knows it all really, I don't have to do much" and then soon after that Ella ended up getting sent him.

It just seems to be an easy pay out for her.

He can't blame Barlow for the US version flopping.
He'll probably blame Britney for that

The reason I have a bit more time for X factor now is because it's NOT 'all about the judges' and their spite against acts that are not their own. The other judges championed James and Jermaine even when they were not their mentor. This is why I came to really dislike Cheryl Cole, because she could be really nasty toward acts that she wasn't mentoring. I hope she never ever comes back because it would go right back into that mode again. Garry is a brilliant judge in my opinion and sets the tone for the other judges and that's how it should be..about the acts NOT about the judges. Simon Cole wants that old format back I think, despite it being one of the reasons why people stopped watching. Also, I think this years talent has been great having Jermaine, James and Ella in the lineup and I liked the boy bands this year too. (I think Louie and Tullisa should be replaced as judges though, but please not by Cheryl Cole, because she's sooo jealous of Nicole because she can REALLY sing and would have the knives out for Nicole's acts for spite as that's her style.(.it's got to be about Cheryl).

He probably will, apparently it was all Paula's fault for last year not being the ratings juggernaut that he predicted.