yeah i agree

I do wonder, if David Cook had been on X Factor, rather then AI, how they'd have handled his 'sob story' once it became know. Admittidley a few attempts were made to get him to talk about it whilst on the show, David rebuffed them politely and it never really came up again, the fact his brother had made the final was never even mentioned, and he was placed out of sight of the cameras.

I just wonder what sort of pressure he'd have been put under by TPTB on X Factor to talk about it etc.

i've known some fantastic singers be turned away by the X Factor producers in favour of average singers with stories behind them, thats before the judges have even seen them. Its a bit of a disgrace but it is just a TV show and crappy sob stories seem to work.

She was good, my second favourite talent show contestant... behind X Factor's Leona!


I think he prefers his colleagues, but I also think he is terribly bored of the show. To the extent that he spent much of the later stages of last series telling everyone what he thought was wrong with the show!


I don't agree. The judges have always been a key aspect of American Idol. Originally, Simon hated Paula and Paula hated Simon. Then there was Randy getting out his seat to have a go at Simon. Then the turnaround where Simon and Paula were supposedly having an affair. And the show played up to it with the "dream sequence" where the two kissed. More recently, it has been Cowell and Seacrest trading barbs. How else would Cowell be getting paid $36 million a year (plus recording rights) by them if they didn't think he was the most important part of the show? (OK, part of it is to do with the lawsuit, but it's still a sign of his importance).

I think Idol has some obvious positives. Many of them stem from being the biggest show in America. For example, the set, the size of the audience, the live band and a generally far larger budget. They also have Ryan Seacrest, who might be annoying to some, but is a very polished presenter.

But then there are the awful group performances, the Ford commercials, the dragged out results, the similarly dubious record of the winners, the repetitive format and the appalling themes.

She started off bad but has had a few strong singles since then and is only the second AI winner after Kelly Clarkson to chart worldwide and not just in the US. Her album sales stand at 900,000 in the US to date and over a million worldwide which is no easy feat.

Taylor Hicks???

And as far as sob stories go - it's not so much about the production, it's about the contestants. If David Cook actually shared his story, they would have used it all the time. They love the stories too, it's part of the business. I mean, how many times have we heard last season that Kristy Lee Cook had to sell her favorite horse?

And the themes are ridiculous.

I agree, it's all turned around nicely for her now. Last year she was another who had 'Flop' written about her.

I haven't followed her career as such but it seems to me that it was a bit of a stroke of genius to pair her with Chris Brown. 'No Air' really raised her profile again and I saw that Tattoo was re-released here as a result. I'm sure she'll continue to do well with the right material.

I allways loved Jordin.
And, believe it or not, Melinda. Even now the two are good friends - Melinda and Jordin understand pretty well why the ended the place they ended and don't have anything bad to say about each other. Actually, Melinda visited Jordin at her home recently, they keep in touch (also with Blake and Chris R) and Jordin promoted Melinda's single in some of her interviews.

Re: OP's inquiry - I like both shows for different reasons. I like the polished AI and the live band (loving that!) , plus the many other liberties the contestants enjoy . But I dislike the gruelling daily workload they are subjected to.
X Factor is more intimate, with more drama and more focus on judges , too many sob stories (2007- all except Rhyd had one, this year are some too) and caters for the 'islander/British mentality' (or what 2 of the exec. producers perceive as one) .
But it's fun, nevertheless and I really enjoy listening to the new talent discovered on both sides of the Atalntic .

PS: Remember, what is being said on the show is edited/scripted , even the 'judges' categories' ... do not think it's all done by Cheryl/Dannii alone. Simon wouldn't let Louis decide for himself , either.

That's nice. Glad they all still keep in touch.

Oh well....I really liked Taylor Hicks and wanted him to win from day one. I still think he's one of the best 'performers' they've had on the show. I'll admit it was no surprise that he hasn't been a great success as a recording artist, I don't think that's necessarily the only criterion that counts (although it probably does to SC )

OK we heard about the horse a few times last series but IIRC that was just about it in terms of sob stories. Surely there's absolutely no comparion with XF where, from the very first audition with many acts, we're given a human interest 'theme' (my wife/mum/budgie died, I'm doing it for my family, I'm just a secretary/waitress, this is my last chance of making it blah blah blah) and have it rammed down our throats on every subsequent show with the appropriate tear-jerking background music??

Why do you think the AI themes are 'ridiculous'? Some clearly work better than others, usually depending on the back catalogue of the guest artist. But I like the fact it gets the singers out of their comfort zone and they either rise to the challenge or completely crash and burn...

I really dislike the sob stories either way and either place, but I still think that given the chance, AI production team would have done the same thing. If David Cook, for example, would have be willing to talk more openly about his brother who is sick with cancer, they would have milked it. I think the only reason those sob stories hadn't been featured here as much is cultural. I get the feeling that crying is less "acceptable" here. I don't know if it makes sense, but it something that came up and surprised me not only in the context of AI. Also, the show develops within the place it is broadcast at, so AI gets by far a worse share of crazy auditions. People figured that's how they'll get their screen time, while in the UK people felt that they can get their five minutes by telling their heart breaking story (by the way, nothing against the talented participants who happen to have a sad story, I'm talking more about this as a general rule now).

I hated Taylor Hicks from the first second, but it really is down to a matter of taste. My favorite winner is David Cook, for me the first person to really push the AI box a little bit.

As far as themes go, they kinda get worse from year to year. Last year's ones were really bad - with all due respect to Neil Diamond, you can't hold an entire evening of Diamond songs when most of the viewers/voters have no idea who that even is (which is a sad story, but that's a completely different subject). The Andrew Lloyd Webber evening wasn't the best theme as well - I think it would have made a better theme in the UK than in the US. It's not really a prime time material here, musicals.

Doing two nights of Beatles songs (and doing one night of Beatles and one night of Lennon/Macca does not really bypass the fact that it was two weeks of Beatles) would have been too much for X-Factor as well.

And a Mariah Carey evening? an entire evening of just Mariah songs? Seriously? They were lucky that they had David Cook who managed to actually be brilliant with a Mariah song, but that was just luck, really. Having one song by her per night is just about as possible to tolerate.

In general, most of last season went for very very specific themes, that allow a lot less freedom for musical styles and variations. Last year's X Factor hadn't had a single theme that was that specific and when the theme is topical rather than personal, there's a lot more places you can take it to.

Of course there are things I like about AI too, I wouldn't have watched it otherwise, and I'm kind of a tragic case when it comes to Idol shows, really. I just think X Factor is better. But maybe it's a "the grass is greener" etc. case.

I agree with you about the part of getting the singers out of their comfort zones, and that it also depends on the catalogue of the guests and all, but when you have an entire season made almost only by themes of individual artists that limits the total catalogue of the season drastically.

I look at the sob stories differently now because I can see they can tell a person's past too. Although we all know about the negative too where they are used to gain sympathy, give guilt trips and manipulate people.

How about telling us about person's life? Actual life?

I'd agree entirely with you on this - rather than another load of sob story baloney why not visit the contestants in their homes and go through their record collections, asking about their influences growing up - far more interesting than another "oh my mum's girlfriend's plumber's cat died".

Couple it with the theme - they have to sing a song from their record collection.

love clay he should of won xxx

Agreed. They give them song choices that are 40 years old and then complain that they are old fashioned when they sing them. I don't know why they can't sing more up to date numbers. Maybe it's to do with royalties.

American Idol is great, but they still seem to try to get to the standard of 3 years ago. I think it was season 5, the one taylor hicks won. The talent in that one was unbelievable, thats why I had to laugh when they were saying last time was their best talent ever. I mean remember, Gedeon Mckinnney who didnt even make the top 12. Then there were, Paris Bennet, Lisa Tucker, Katherine Mcphee, Kelly Pickler, Mandisa, Chris Daughtry, Ace young, Elliott Yamin! I have nevr seen talent series, with such a deep line up of talent! Last time was well over rated, and a lot of the good ones didnt make the top 12, or went early, Like Stephanie Edwards, and Sabrina Sloan, who was the best I remember and was completely robbed. Anyways, Xfactor seems a bit phony at times, and the judges arent very honest with their acts, even Simon. I mean Danny never criticied her acts and they were bad, other than Rhydian. Louis with the Mcdonald Brothers, what the hell was that, and those cheesy Same difference.....Awful!