The only thing i think is unfair is artists are expected to change every week.

an awful lot of artists in the charts have their own style and very rarely stray from the style of music.

So to expect a contestant to be amazing at a completely different style of song is unfair and ridiculous. Not only from the producers but from the fans as well.

If a contestant is amazing at ballads then why should she be expected to be amazing at hip and RnB

If a contestant is used to the Piano and the acoustic, why are they expected to be amazing at Dance routines and Pop songs.

A great artist will adapt a song to their style

Having categories each week Is about the song not the style.

So if Abi was to enter 90's week or clubland week and adapt a 'song' from that style its as it should be. But to expect the poor thing to completely adapt her style to fit the category is unfair and stupid.

Its like asking a footballer to be amazing at cricket.

a lot of artists are not versatile with style and thats fine.

Also the word current is annoying as hell

Abi will continue doing dull as dishwater piano ballads regardless of the theme, the different themes are purely for entertainment, acts like James Arthur have proven that it's possible to put your own spin on a song outside of your genre so I don't see why it's such a big issue.

She should stick to what she has been doing throughout her X Factor journey. Abi has a strong idea about who she is as an artist which I have to give her credit for. Contestants like Abi usually go wrong when they go outside their style which is why I think Abi should keep doing what she does best.

I would like to hear her go back to playing her guitar this Saturday and perform one of her original tracks from her interdependent release from the end of last year I could imagine Seeing Red coming across really well on the show.

If it gets her out faster then I am all for it. This whole stripped back makes someone a serious artist malarkey is what has made X factor a bit unbearable. At least it's a good time to get a cup if tea as you kniw that you should be out if the room before you top yourself.

People who moan about acts not being able to "do uptempo" (and, God help me, I even hear those words in my head in Kelly's weird screeching voice) bug me a little - if Janet, Ella or - this year - Abi were to win, it's highly doubtful that their album would have any Little Mix-style foot-stompers. They should really stick to the sort of music they would be releasing should they win, and if that means that they adapt a genre into their own style then so be it (nobody moaned when James Arthur did it last year after all - yes, he did it far better than Devlin ever did, but the principle is the same). You wouldn't expect, say, Leona to put on a NuMetal voice and sing Last Resort while throwing up the rockhands during Rock Week, or Jamie Afro to sing an operatic version of Time To Say Goodbye during Love & Heartbreak Week, so why expect other acts to?

Honestly, I get sick to the hind teeth of slow-and-"quirky" versions of songs that shouldn't be slow and quirky by the fourth or fifth week, but that's because while it's pleasant listening, I'd never buy a full album of that sort of thing. But then, I wouldn't vote for Abi either: the people who vote for her do so because they want to hear that sort of thing. Hell, I'm not a fan of the Leona-style "five-notes-per-syllable" balladeering either, but again, I wouldn't expect her not to do that - it's who she is as an artist, and just because the genre isn't my cup of tea, doesn't mean that she shouldn't sing in her genre.

As LemonadeMouth says, it's usually when acts change their genre that they get kicked out, so...

Yeah but then they stick to what they do best and the judges call them a one trick pony, then they change and the judges say they should stick to doing what they do best.

The whole versatility thing is an XF construct that's peddled to fit the themed weeks of the show. In the real world it's irrelevant what genres a singer can sing or how versatile they are.

They have a style and work that style, they only tend to change style if the market demands that they have no choice but to do so and they do not wish to "retire". Very few actually do that though, most just fade gracefully from being "current" and focus on their core fan base as a change can alienate the loyal & the loyal can provide a very lucrative long term career unless you are a throwaway fad in the first place.

Also, consumers buy into different musical styles, switching and changing would sign a death knell for any artist as you wouldn't be able to build long lasting fans, so you'd only last 5 minutes. Most singers who do change style, do so maybe once or even twice but over a long period, they don't switch and change.

You don't see Adele rapping or Snoop Dog doing a big ballad, although I would love to see that if I am being honest, but not for any positive reasons.

I would be more than happy for them to ditch the themed weeks as it has a tendency to derail most of them at some point (even if the judges comments don't reflect that). But I get why they do it for the show, it allows them to build a construction around which they can keep things varied and influence viewers without asking too much of them.

Which leads me to this...

It's a bit like the whole package idea, which is peddled by XF and really only exists within the XF bubble and is rather irrelevant outside of the show, it's actually one of the ones that get's me the most; more than the versatility thing as it's basically just irrelevant bullshit but it's bullshit that sticks and the audience really seem to take seriously without any thought process behind it at all. I guess it's an easy one to justify and believe because it's obvious and you can easily pick out a few icons who fit the idea without thinking any further.

It basically just translates though, into having a broad voting appeal with the audience:
- nice voice
- easy on the eye but not threatening with it (Madonna would have alienated the voting audience with her raunchiness)
- stylish but not too out there (Lady Gaga would have been crucified as desperate and attention seeking in the extreme)
- being likable (make people go "ooh I like you, I'm gonna get behind you")

These things are bullshite in the real world though. If you run through successful singers/artists/bands/etc they all make it for different reasons, few of them have all of those things or even most of them. Some do but most don't, for every successful act that has most or all of the things you can pull out 2 who don't.

They all make it for whatever it is that is their strongest trait and that trait resonates with an audience.


So, XF is just bullshite aimed at getting people to vote and peddling ideas that are easy for your average audience to accept and importantly form opinions around & act upon without any thought process.