It makes a mockery out of the voting system though. I'm guessing most people who would vote for Leona are girls aged about 14. I think they would be more likely to spend hours on websites voting repeatedly for some carp award. I don't think many people over the age of 20 could really care who wins anyway becuase it means nothing.

So, Leona will win because of the voting system, not because her single is the best. Admittedly I don't know what the other nominees are because I can't be bothered to look.


Music is about opinions to an extent, but I do think that some music transcends the opinion divide to a certain extent. Music by The Beatles or The Smiths is widely regarded as being better then Will Young for instance, and rightly so.

The reason music written by the artist themselves is almost always better than music written by faceless song-writers for singers like Leona is that it's coming from the heart. It's emotional. It means something to the song-writer. Surely no-one can deny that Leona's music is written for the sole puropose of making money for Simon Cowell and the record company. If you can't see that then I pity you.

No she wouldn't. She's far too boring to have made it without the X factor. She's been successful in all those countries because the X factor is shown in all those countries and because the record company have given her a massive push.

So many narrow minded people on here.

If you feel like saying you can't stand Leona's singing style or that "Bleeding Love" is an annoying song then that's fine. Music is subjective, people will have their own tastes and opinions. What annoys me are the people who have taken it upon themselves to define "real music" and decide that anyone who likes a certain singer or band knows nothing about music and that their opinions really don't count.

I could come on here and say that Leona does actually write songs, for this album and in the past. I also understand that she plays the guitar. But that misses the point and it's just arguing into the hands of these "real music fans".

At one point, a real artist had to write their own songs but I notice how Elvis and Frank Sinatra were kindly given a pardon on this count and a few excuses made up. The simple fact is that nobody cared that Elvis played guitar occasionally. He is a legend because he was a brilliant performer and because he had great songs which he delivered so well. Is anyone actually saying that if Elvis didn't play guitar occasionally, he wouldn't be worthy of note?

Of course, these two are a case in point. Just think of some of the great songs that we would never have heard if music was only performed by those who wrote it?

Although Leona does write, I think her great talent and gift lies in her voice. Of course not everyone will like it, but millions do and as far as I last knew singing (well) is a talent. I remember plenty of music critics (often those that push "real music") saying Pavarotti was an incredibly gifted man... because he had a voice that could connect with millions.

EDIT: On the subject of the X Factor, it does no harm to the music industry. It's not as though the charts are dominated by Steve Brookstein wannabe's, is it? I'd actually say it's a good thing given how wide an audience it brings music to. My first interest in music came from watching Pop Idol (so anything I say must be completely irrelevant!).

Of course Simon Cowell is only doing it for money, but just because someone is working to make money doesn't mean you need to boycott anything they are selling. If you like what they turn out then they are rewarded. If I did that I wouldn't have anything in my house. So long as it's good quality then you buy it. Do you think EMI signed the Beatles for anything more than to make money? And what can be said for Amy Winehouse, she's managed by Simon Fuller's "evil, capitalist, mass market driven, Spice Girls and American Idol creating" 19 Management. She's only where he is because Fuller and a business partner want to make money. That's no reason not to buy her records. It's capitalism.

But who is to say what single is the best? What I think is gonna differ from what others think etc. But the artist with the most votes, regardless of how they acheived them, will be awarded the BRIT and that's just the way it goes. Yes it has flaws but it's the system they use and have done for a few years now.


Again, give it a rest with the patronising remarks please. And yes I do understand your final paragraph, but if you are even remotely interested in Leona (which you don't seem to be) you'll know she wrote an entire demo album prior to X-Factor where she wrote each and every song. She also wrote for her album that's out now as well.

But it's not, the UK version of X-Factor is only shown in the UK and Ireland. And what's this massive push that she has received that other artists haven't? They've sent her single and video to radio and TV in these countries just like any other artist. She hasn't done any promo in the majority of them and yet has still had the #1 single and even #1 album in some.

Erm....No it isn't...And that's what record companies are supposed to do...

You're arguments are very much scraping the bottom of the barrel.

ok , i'll vote for her
but only if she promises to never release any more music ever

And where exactly did I say it was 'alright'?

I am merely stating the fact, that much great music has been composed and performed under the influence of certain drugs.

And in Belgium, Netherlands, Iceland and Spain and some other countries apparently:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...d.php?t=658083

But I admit I was just making it up about it being shown in other countries. I haven't a clue who shows it.



Maybe I'm the only person who realises this, but record companies aren't communist organisations. They don't believe in promoting every artist equally. Some, like Leona, get a million pound record contract and endless promotion before they've even recorded a note. Others release album after album and never get any promotion at all. It's unfair I know, but that's the way it is.

As for my arguments scraping the bottom of the barrel - I don't think so. Do you seriously think that Sony BMG, Leona's record company, give The View (who are on the same label and much better incidentally) anywhere near as much promotion as Leona?

Silly argument that you can never win.

The analogy between singer and songwriter is exactly the same as that between actor and scriptwriter. They are 2 completely different disciplines.

If you are saying that Andrea Bocelli, Barbara Streisand, Pavarotti etc are not not world class artists then you deserve all the ridicule that you receive.

You think you can also write off whole genres like opera just because they are not original or written by the performers?

In the same vein, Laurence Olivier and Tom Hanks are regarded as world class actors, they don't write the script.

If you are a great songwriter, then write songs, but give them to a proper singer to perform and interpret. Most great writers are not great singers.

Why exactly does she deserve to win?

I take it you mean the relationship between singer and songwriter is the same as the relationship between actor and scriptwriter - i.e. the two relationships are anlagous. Well, frankly, they're not analagous at all. The vast majority of actors never write a script, whereas most credible 'pop' musicians and singers do write they're own material. It can only be assumed that the ones that don't (or the ones whose record companies reject the material in favour of professional songwriters) are not as talented. If they could write really good songs then they would do - they wouldn't get someone else to do it for them.


I would never argue that Barbara Streisand is a 'world class artist'. I'm not a housewife (or gay) you know.


No, I don't think that and I didn't say that. I wasn't talking about opera. Opera is an entirely different genre. Opera singers are singing songs that are often hundreds of years old and written by geniuses. I really don't think you can compare the composition of an opera to writing Bleeding Love. That is just a ridiculous thing to say. Pavarotti was a great singer, but he was singing established brilliant songs.


As is the case with most actors, but not with most musicians.


What a load of crap that is. There are literally thousands of amazing singers and musicians who write their own material.

I suggest that the first thing you do is look up analogy in the dictionary and learn how to use the word in a sentence correctly. Then I suggest you start thinking of a better analogy, because Leona is no Tom Hanks.

Nominated for four awards because you can sing somebody elses song in tune. Says a lot about the sad state of today's music industry.

And you speak for all her fans do you, girls aged 14 Im a girl aged 22, so i resent that and most of her fans i speak to are older than 16.

Still a bigger achievement than anyone else that year considering it was the BIGGEST selling single of the year, and 600thou in a couple of weeks IS quite an achievement in this digital day and age whatever way you try and spin it.

I said the majority. There is the odd person who makes it into their 20s without discovering what good music sounds like I suppose.

"Good music" is nothing more than preferance.

Will Leona be as successful in 10 years time? Will her fans still buy her albums, go to her concerts, this time next year when the next X-Factor winner is the one who is getting all the industry's publicity? I doubt it. She's flavour of the moment.

What a load of bull.

Do you ever see the other XF winners Shayne Ward and Stve Brookstein getting #1's in 20 countries? no.

She dissapeared to do her album for 9 months, she returned and was bigger than ever.

She will be around for many years to come.

I think she will. I think she's only going to get better and better, providing she gets some decent songs . None of the other xfactor winners have caused this much of a stir, and lets face it Leon isn't going to be as huge this time next year (bless wee Leon, I still think he's a star )

Meant to add... I'm not going to vote for best single, while I loved the song at first, some of the other songs I prefer now. I really want her to win best female, never even heard of some of the other nominees!

Thanks for the advice, I just phoned the Samaritans but they said it wasn't really anything they could help me with

Having hits in other countries is nothing to brag about - David Hasselhoff is a superstar in Germany!!

I'm getting worried, I'm not confident she'll get any tonight.

All that multi-voting going on - and she got nothing!

My faith in the British public has been slightly restored.