She is like a choir singer, no emotion whatsoever just stands in one place singing, looking blank as a piece of paper. Can't imagine her dancing or putting on an entertaining performance.

And her voice is ok but not really anything special, no character and nothing unique.

They shouldn't have to be able to dance though, that's one of the problems with the show. If the voice is good enough you don't need distractions, Leona Lewis didn't.

This girl just can't cut it.

Yes but leona has gone downhill because she is inevitably a one trick pony. She is a higher calibre than Melanie, yet possesses the same overall blandness.

I don't think they should be an amazing dancer, but being able to put on an entertaining performance is part of having the x factor and she just doesn't have it (i think we both agree on that!).

I do think Leona is bland as a personality but genuinely think her problem is mismanagement and poor material. I don't know if she would have had years in her but ought to have lasted longer than she did.

Leona has not retired, so not sure what you are talking about.

The fact that she hasn't had a hit for ages. She did very well for a while but the material got weaker and weaker. I'm not saying it's too late for her to make a comeback, just that her star faded rather quickly.

She's very overrated she's not that special at all don't get the love for her on here.

i disagree. certain regions of england are very much so - the northern cities and regions inparticular. liverpool especially have done brilliantly the past few years, the georgies came out in full force for joe mceldery and there are some really massive cities like birmingham which has >1million people. yet anytime there's an irish contestant, them getting far is chalked down to nothing more than their nationality...(which doesn't explain how previous irish contestants got pretty far without that vote, before it was allowed). also - am i just mindblanking here? how many irish contestants have made it to the final??...i think eoghain quigg managed 3rd, but other than that i honestly can't think of any.

melanie reminds me of sophie from kelly rowland's year. a nice voice, but quite blande and dull/forgettable really....if she were to get far it would be on the strength of her voice, but i seriously doubt her outshinning some of the others. if not vocally, her personality will likely get overshadowed, unless nicole takes her under her wing and brings a bit of her life with her for melanie to look good.

Tesco Mary was insanely popular and irish. She made it to the finals and even beat cher in votes, before being thrown under a bus.

Yes. Vocally she was lightyears ahead of melanie aswell and can actually put on a decent performance despite being rather bland and lacking in personality.

Every melanie performance is an emotionally dead borefest.

IMO - She certainly isn't overrated on this forum, she's appreciated by her fans and berated by her detractors. Not everybody's music tastes are the same, so opinions differ.

totally forgot about her. actually i've forgot about everyone else from her year too....except wagner...
did she make it to the finals? i thought she was put out (by the judges conviently changing the rules to suit themselves again) in the semis.

Yes she was, they changed the format at last minute because Mary beat cher to the final, and that's not what they wanted.

Good luck getting Tamera, Hannah or Abi to dance!

Just the opposite. Melanie is underrated on this forum. Everywhere else Melanie is considered a front-runner. It's only here that there are a dispropportionate number of comments stating that she is "average", "ordinary", "underwhelming", etc. You would think by reading this forum that the producers and judges aren't listening to the same performer when they gush over her.

All have infinitely more stage presence and are nowhere near as bland and generic as melanie.

Abi has emotion in her performances and is also a songwriter, unlike melanie. Tamera is current and marketable and has charisma, unlike melanie.

I'm not a huge Hannah fan tbh but she wipes the floor with melanie on stage presence and probably vocals.

Melanie seems a sweet girl and is pretty, that's about it really. Her voice is good but even leona for example has far superior vocals, and she is now flopping due to lacking personality and being a one trick pony, like melanie.

Okay, you people really need to grow up. Believe it or not, people are allowed to have negative opinions on contestants, it's a discussion board. If you only want to read positives, go to the appreciation thread and stay there.

And I say this as a big Melanie fan.

Please provide evidence she's seen as a front runner everywhere except here. Everyone I know thinks she's distinctly average and a total bore on stage.

They gush over loads of mediocre contestants. I struggle to believe you havnt yet noticed this.

But to be fair, it is getting a bit repetitive...this is like the third or fourth thread discussing Melanie. If anything it's proven that there are more people who dislike her so I wouldn't say she's overrated...

Its a singing competition, and not Strictly.

Music and singers are a matter of taste, I love Leonard Cohen my Oh cant stand him and thinks him bland and boring. My daughter loves 1D, I dont.
I like a few singers this year mostly in the overs and think Andrea should have gone through. But I am sure others have other favs. I cant see the point of Tamera, imo just another screechy warbler but she has her fans. Abby, keeky and boring to me. Again she has her fans, so lets live and let live.

Yes this is fact, though I'm basing my thoughts on what type of act has done the best out of the show as to who should win.

Obviously taste is subjective it can't be denied which acts do best from x factor though.

1. Judges comments on her performances
2. Producers edit (she is being edited as a front-runner)
3. Youtube views of her performances relative to other contestants
4. Youtube likes/dislikes on her performances relative to other contestants
5. Positive news articles/reviews of her performances which state that she is a front-runner
6. Betting odds which show Melanie as one of the front-runners

Would you like any more evidence or is this enough?

You certainly are entitled to your opinion that she is a "total bore", but that is all it is, nothing more and nothing less. You can believe that and still acknowledge that she is a front-runner, as the evidence suggests. Whether or not she is eliminated before the live shows is irrelevent. As of now she is a front-runner.