Do people actually have any proof that the x factor is a stitch up or do , as with all these shows, people just screamibg fix as soon as their favourite is in danger?

Every year there is 1 or 2 genuine "stars" in the x factor and the rest are ordinary to good and don't deserve to be on the show longer than others. This year andrea has the best voice by a considerable distance but fluer is the best overall in terms of voice/performance. The rest are good but nothing more.

I will offer another analogy. Politics. We are heading for a general election. The right-wing media are hitting hard on Milliband atm. Ridiculous photos, bacon sandwiches, etc, etc. Even if you are not a labour supporter it is pretty clear who the press are hitting hard on.

No conspiracy, just dirty tactics to manipulate an outcome. XF adopting something similar.

Some people do not care about policy, they just want a strong speaker, someone who looks good, and says what they want them to say.

Exactly the same with XF. The candidates are puppets like 1D and OM.

You've summed that up very nicely 👍

just because the producers do things to try to manipulate or influence opinion doesn't mean it works however and acts when they get voted off more often than not its because they just really weren't very good, and that's when we get the fanbois making every excuse in the book for them getting voted off rather than just accept they weren't very good

http://sofabet.com/2013/11/12/how-to...-the-x-factor/

that article would have a lot more credibility if they hadn't linked it to the show "sabotaging" abi alton , someone who had the vocal equivalent of nails being scraped down a blackboard

sofabet look at things in hindsight and then fit their theories already knowing the outcomes , how many times do we see the same supposed tactics being used with zero effect on voting

as I said above just because producer manipulation is used it doesn't mean that affects votes as more often than not the worst acts do actually get voted off earlier than the better acts. the main exception being the so-called joke acts who get judged by a different criteria anyway and people vote for them just because they are the joke act in the first place.

Mehhh....
Stop making a theory which didn't exist anywhere but your mind

She still survived almost for almost half of the live shows last year - if she was that bad why did she last that long? And how did she get so far in the first place?

The best part about that article is the part about the venn diagram. The producers use these tactics but how likely is it that the public play ball? The only time the public hasn't played ball this year is with Stereo Kicks. Look at the weekly articles on Sofabet - they've correctly called most bottom two's this year, and also correctly called the elimenee each week before it happens, thanks to analysing these tactics.
Sure, they're off a few times but the manipulation is greater than most people imagine.

There seems to be a hell of a lot of pressuming, assuming and guessing in that article

What conspiracy? Are you all that dumb? It's reality television. It's supposed to be manipulated. It happens with every reality show, everywhere in the world.

Read Simon's biography by Tom Bower. Simon said it himself for the first Pop Idol: it can't be a contest and it can't depend on the music, it has to be like a soap opera.

Ive always said one day someone will write a book on what really goes on but until they can work a way around the Cowell clause of silence everyone has to pretend its all above board

Chart thob by Ben Elton makes good reading

Nicely put.

How can it be Reality TV? RT is very much unscripted. XF is scripted. Yes, they may try to make it more like a soap opera but the storyline is boring and predictable. I don't watch soap operas because I cannot stand watching the same people over and over again.

There is no conspiracy theory. Just fact and the fact is it is unfairly scripted to produce certain outcomes. That one is easy to spot even by the thickest of watchers.

One guarantee is there are 4 x drama queens even before the contestants may be labelled as one. And the list of XF puppets is getting longer.

X Factor is another name for no x factor.

It is only a conspiracy if you actually believe it is a talent/singing competition.

It does give less known talent a chance at "fame" and give some talented but frustrated artists a shot at bigger success, but that is not the show's objective. A great deal of manipulation takes place, and the contracts everyone who appears signs basically agree to go along with it. While many hope or expect to not be victims of such shennanigans,or even have confidence that they can overcome it by sheer force of talent and determination, it happens, and once they're in, they can not really do much about it.

If any of you wonder why there are so few outstanding singers on these shows , or why you probably personally know at least one person who could outsing half of them, the reason istwofold: Many people are naturally good singers, but would freak out on a huge stage before an audience because they only do it as a hobby and lack the composure only experience can bring. Most outstanding singers/musicians do not consider the risks and compromises worth the brief exposure , and exposure limited and controlled by others to a great degree.

It isn't a conspiracy. It's just entertainment

This young lady in the links below didn't even get through the first auditions in front of the judges. Therefore didn't even get a chance to sing in front of Simon and co.
The show 'producers' let people in before and after that couldn't even sing.
Its all about people having a laugh at the ones that can't sing then putting through the ones that they believe will make a show.

Now I agree that that format used to work very well and still does with some. However we are going into a different era where people want to hear good singing and are not just worried about how people look. Which is how it was many years ago.

The public are starting to get fed up with being sold the type that they are supposed to want.
There are starting to be many singers again that don't tick the 'beautiful' 'handsome' box.

X Factor is dying as people are getting fed up with them trying to tell us what we do and don't want that used to work 10 years ago.


Both songs are just her singing without all the 'touching up' that are on so many covers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9n0sciiwjM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8yi1lQkRYk

I agree with a lot of what you say, however, for me it is most certainly not entertaining.

I don't like the way the show ridicules deluded, slightly barmy people.

I don't like the manipulation to achieve a certain outcome, without care or responsibility of its participants. Some have really suffered as a consequence.

I don't like the exploitation of the public, those gullible ones who still believe they are supporting an act.

The worst is the manipulation post a win to derail an act who may have won but Scowell cannot allow anything to stand in the way of his business plan, i.e. chosen one.

Scowell has complete control of too many people and he exploits artists who are fantastic and are desperate to make it in the business.

He pulls all the strings and only XF puppets who lick his *** get anywhere on a grand scale. They are the ones who have no X factor in reality and need mass promotion to be anything.

I don't findit entertaining either, but enjoy the performances.

The girl in the above links has a lovely voice and her pitch in the Adele cover is literally perfect.

If you guys are curious, check out some of the links in the DS factor game thread. There are only a few so far, and you will already hear people with the potential to be as good as many who have appeared on the show.There is a link to my band and solo page as well. I am one who wouldn't (and *chose* not to) appear on a show like this for the reasons I mentioned above.

It must be a fix if someone who sings like this is on the live shows and gets lauded as some kind of star int he making

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfEbZks259M

Just for fun, here's a link to an old webpage of mine with a whistleregister-tastic Mariah Carey Dreamlover cover(not my natural style, I'm a jazz girl, but I can *fake* it) . I don't claim to be Leona,but I'm pretty sure I could take on most people as far as(4.5 solid octaves) range https://www.gigmasters.com/acousticband/amyandrichmusic

I think all the conspiracy theories are complete nonsense. I don't believe any of them. This forum and the article referenced seem to think that the shadowy "producers" manipulate everything behind the scenes. For what exact reason is never very clear.

My understanding is that the producers (who noone ever names or seems to have any verifiable information on) are doing what their name says - producing a TV show. They are involved in all the technical aspects of production: ensuring the stage is going to work correctly, booking the singers for the results show, getting the venue available, etc. Why should they care who wins and who goes? They probably produce several shows for ITV. I don't see why it would matter to them who wins or is successful afterwards.

One man does care and that's Simon Cowell, as he runs a record label. But he has limited ability to predict who will be successful. He can't just throw money at a random wannabe and make them a superstar. If he could he would never have bothered with Pop Idol, Britain's Got Talent or X-Factor. He needs to gauge public opinion through the phone votes, as that gives some indication of who might sell well. But he has no power to manipulate anyone. Sometimes acts become phenomenally successful (One Direction) without anyone really predicting it.

These conspiracy theories seem to come about because people's favourites get voted off early. But that really proves that there's no conspiracy. Millions of people watch and vote. Millions buy music. Predicting what those millions of people will do is very hard.

This had me LOLing

Your naivety astounds me

There isn't a conspiracy, but there are two agendas. Cowell's is to showcase and promote the acts he will sign or wants to sign to his label. One Direction are a classic example. The show gave them a ready made fanbase without having to go to through the usual steps to build one up. Would they have been as big if they'd been voted out first week instead of FYD? So obviously Cowell's favourites need to stay in the show as long as possible. The producers' agenda is ratings and tabloid exposure, which means keeping in the controversial and novelty acts regardless of their vocal ability. I wouldn't say there's a conspiracy, because the show is pretty transparent about what it is nowadays.

How then do you explain why Chloe, who got the most tabloid exposure and by far the most controversy, went early? The two girls who had the most stories went first. Similarly the boys who posed for magazines have gone instead of more "boring" people.

That doesn't seem to fit with the idea of the producers being able to fix it, even if they wanted to.

What I love is people who claim Paul deserved to leave because he had the least number of votes...

Yes, he had the least number of votes... because his vote was undermined by unfair means!

The producers have so much power in determining how a contestant may be perceived by the public, song choices, performance slots, staging, press leaks, styling, VT edits, judges comments and so on. It's naive to think that they won't use that power to get the results they desire. Especially when there's millions in advertising revenue at stake, not to mention careers and jobs. It may not happen all the time... but it happens.