Can we agree that over the past few years the X Factor has basically turned into a group producer talent show? After One Direction, the act that seems to get the most buzz here is Little Mix and stateside Fifth Harmony and Emblem3..

XFUK
I mean Marcus disappeared, Amelia is doing kind of well but I for one dislike the path she's chosen to follow and Misha is the only one from 2011 who seems to be growing as an artist.
From 2012 we can't say anything just yet but if I could predict something I would say James Arthur could make it cause he's really good and has a different voice, maybe Ella (but Im not sure about her, only if shes given the right material) and Union J - which would also fit what Im trying to say.
XFUS
In the US, the first season didnt provide any solid successful act besides Chris Rene, who's already basically faded away after his one hit Young Homie, and we could say Marcus Canty - I enjoyed his first singles, they werent really successful, unfortunately. Melanie was totally screwed up; Rachel and Drew were forgotten.
The second season had Paige signed but her first single was awful imo, Carly is a difficult one to predict (I think the same as Ella), maybe Tate has a shot but idk... Diamond might start an acting career, who knows.. Cece was apparently signed and she also needs the right material; Beatrice, no doubt, is going to be screwed up by hollywood/syco if she doesnt end up being a disney star. So the acts who have more chances and probably the biggest fan bases are Emblem3 and 5H.

If you agree with me, why do you guys think groups are the only ones who get a decent reception from the public?

its because they arent many groups out these days.. most are all made by talent shows, even the wanted 2 of those members auditioned for x factor...

the say it goes in cycles. maybe it's just time for groups after the parade of single ladies.

It's the one direction phenonema

Prior to these boys the groups were a dead loss on the shows and always went out in the first rounds. i know they got lots of stick on here but anyone with a half a brain cell could see that they had great chemistry from the off and with social media the rest is history.

The Managers/ Record Companies now want a slice of that action so the groups are being pushed on both sides of the atlantic and then of course as Albrightyz says above it is a cyclical thing. A couple of seasons from now groups will be out and divas will or rock stars will be in

Of course this is all just m theory

They did play a part in it but JLS came second just 2 years before so groups have done well in the past, I think jls are part of the reason 1d were made, simon refused to sign jls and regrets it as they have done so well, their tours always do well. maybe he created 1d so he would have his own boyband after losing out on jls.

It really isn't . JLS anyone? Even Jedward had been doing fine long before 1D existed. Imo it's simply down to marketability. All the groups the OP mentioned are one of the most marketable acts from their year, they are all a bunch of young girls/boys so are bound to do well commercially.


Series 1 - G4 (runner up)
Series 2 - Journey South (3rd place)
Series 3 - The MacDonald Brothers (4th place)
Series 4 - Same Difference (3rd place)
Series 5 - JLS (runner up)
Series 6 - Jedward (6th place, but they have been doing well since the show)

So no, groups had been doing just fine since the first series.

The group were singled out as the category that can't win before LM (if I rightly understood), so they seem to have been slated by some viewers (some wanting the category to disapear entirely sometimes, at least so I read here)... But I suppose that if you accept that winning isn't everything, they did well enough.

However, while 1D might have been put together after the missed opportunity with JLS for Simon, now the trend has caught on and they seem to be manufacturing groups on some X factor show (US, Australia, others too I suppose), hoping for the same worldwide phenomenom.

I like that they form groups as well as look for already made groups. I think most vocal groups in the past were formed through casting anyway, so it's not really different. It just happened behing the scenes, and their management would even attempt to rewrite history sometimes. Here, it's "honnest" -apart from the fact that they might be looking at candidates looking for potencial group members earlier than bootcamp.

Do we really know that the groups are the only ones getting a decent reception?
In the US, I don't understand the country thing, but the runner up was very impressive, and she was signed up too I think. In the UK, I believe James has enough people interested too... Though I know that his attitude is a sore point to other people.

I stand corrected Thank you

granted some groups have been doing just fine before them but certainly the One Direction Phenomenon just takes things to a whole new level... without them, who would think of arguing even that XF is about groups...


same with the boyband genre... without One Direction, it wouldn't be the newsworthy rebirth of the genre it was in 2012.


even in the Reunion i can see the One Direction influence... if for nothing else, the juxtaposition of the older bands' experiences and their historic relevance to who else-- 1D of course!!

Yes, it's because of One Direction being big globally and possibly Little Mix winning the show a couple of years ago. Suddenly interest was shifted to the group category last year.

Little Mix are clearly marked as 1D.2 (although Union J could counter that in the long run) but not many want to be the .5 or .8.

It has nothing much to do with groups being popular on the show, which (G4 and JLS apart) they've not been really. For every JLS there is a whole list of poor groups starting with Futureproof or 4Sure or Kandy Rain.

I still think JLS were the first real game-changers when it came to the groups category being taken seriously, not 1D. The fact that JLS were so well-received on the show and then went on to have a successful recording career afterwards must have given SC the idea to set up a group with even more appeal for teenage girls, and basically to invest the time and money he did in 1D. Yes, 1D's success is at a much higher level, but JLS, IMO, basically made the Group category credible again after the horrors of Journey South, The McDonald Brothers etc.

100% agreed - they laid down the ground work that alot of subsequent acts nicked in terms of promotion, when is the best time to release and things like that.

Even things that 1D did such as the book at the end of the year was nicked from JLS, same with the video teasers/ countdowns they did for WMYB. Off course 1D have proved more popular due to $imon's backing and his links to America and touting them.

JLS imo were the ones to really break out in terms of non winners doing really well and having commercialised success.

Before them G4 had good album success, but never really crossed over into the mainstream.

Little Mix arent 1D.2 Some 1D fans might like them but they arent the same as Little Mix actually have good songs

Emblem 3 from the US version are doing quite well, all things considering.

I don't think the person you quoted is an avid 1D fan, or is he?

No he is not lol

Yep!

I think it's a combination - JLS finishing runner up did make the group's catergory more desirable and then 2 years later 1D took it to the next level.

Post show groups are more marketable, but I think the gap in the market has benefited them. 1D came when there was no international pop group around and boybands were pretty much lost in the US. LM, their sound and lack of competition- The Sats (pop/dance) GA were still on a break when they won the show.

Now lets see what Union J, Emblem 3 and Fifth Harmony have in store.

Chloe seems to be doing well

Chloe
#3 Brazil
#6 Israel
#10 Ecuador
#38 New Zealand
#41 Canada
#43 United States
#63 Sweden
#76 Singapore
#84 Costa Rica
#94 Italy
#101 Egypt
#106 Finland
#138 Mexico
#180 Nicaragua
#207 South Africa
#218 Lebanon
#251 Ireland
#268 Slovenia
#277 United Arab Emirates
#299 Norway
#344 Panama

No, not a fan. I do wish them well however.

Little Mix were, I think, seen as a female version of 1D. Whether they are is neither here or there. But there were clear comparisons with them. Same with Union J.