Will we ever see a Wagner, jonny Robinson or a Chico win. I'd love to see it once just to see Simons reaction

I consider a joke act to be one Simon hates and not one he plays along with tbh. I've always considered a joke act to be the contestant anti talent shows oppositions would vote for

James Arthur won didn't he?

^ Leon Jackson too.

And Sam Bailey

And little mix

Nah they won't. There was talk of this in previous years with Wagner in particular of him doing well, with people saying he'll win because people want to stick it to Simon Cowell. In reality, he was just barely above the bottom 2 every week. Same with Jedward.

They might get by for a little while but they're always gone before the top 5 pretty much. And if there ever was some genuine worry that an act is doing too well in the voting, they can always just screw them over with editing.

You beat me to it.

And Joe, I couldn't take him seriously after releasing a Miley Cyrus song

Anton???

Apart from Rylan who got into the top 5.

No way would this ever be allowed to happen - not unless the act ever a) had some commercial prospect after the show, or b) could actually sing (or both). None of the novelty acts we've had so far have fulfilled this critera (apart from Johnny Robinson to an extent). Same Difference managed it in the early days, but the show is a different beast in 2015 and they did have commercial prospects at the time.

Whilst I don't consider Reggie N Bollie to be a novelty act, I do think they're the closest we've ever seen a "fun" act being considered for the final. I don't think the voting public would ever go for them over a singer like Louisa or Che, but I think the show would be wise to get them as far as they can, and third place seems realistic at this point.

I don't think so. They always do pretty badly in the voting- scraping through each week. The show always has to help them along as well by always giving them late slots in the running order and big expensive stage shows. They always end up either 5th or 6th.

And Ben oppsss

If people really wanted to stick it to Simon Cowell, they just wouldn't watch the show or ever buy anything from an artist from the X Factor.

Joke acts will always pick up a small following because viewers find them entertaining. Producers know this, which is why they always make sure they have at least 2 potential joke acts in the live shows. This year was supposed to be Bupsi and Reggie and Bollie. One hasn't worked out but the other has proved to be more successful than I reckon they had dreamed of.

Still don't think R&B will get near the final. Look at the supposed popularity of Only the Young last year - in reality, they were nowhere near faves and I suspect the same of R&B this year. I compare the two because both are in that category of "fun" acts (though OTY were a serious, decent act till live shows).

Last year, Blonde Electric were Louis's choice for joke act but got it wrong - no one liked them. Stevie was the producers choice (brought back in as wildcard) and they got this one right - though again, he was pretty much always just scraping through the voting.

Joke acts are supposed to go quite far - it's what the show wants. But they will never win because most people who watch aren't interested in sabotaging Simon Cowell - they like the show and want a decent winner. Reggie and Bollie may not be a complete joke but they certainly aren't serious enough to win and for certain will be thrown under the bus if they got anywhere near the kind of votes that could win them the show.

Have you forgotten Same Difference? They were supposed to be a 'fun' act weren't they? And they came third!

Taking into account the youtube views, facebook likes and itunes sales, I reckon Reggie and Bollie were in the top 3 last week. They were favorites to go the last 2 weeks - they are not now. Interesting to see what happens next. Not that I consider them a joke act. I think they are great.

As I said, Only The Young last year were pretty much the same and also did well in terms of views, itunes etc. Kids will love them but that won't be enough in the long run.