I know there have been threads like this and I'm sure the good old "if you don't like it, don't watch it" argument will be made, but I really am just very surprised at how unconcerned I am with X-Factor this year.

I feel like there is no spark of life left in it anymore. None of the contestants remotely excite me and I feel like it's been a very weak series, the weakest yet.

I've actually lost interest more or less completely and I used to love it. One reason I originally registered here was to talk X-Factor but I've hardly bothered because it has completely failed to grab my attention this time around.

Does anyone know why this series might seem so lukewarm to me? I don't think it's the lack of Sharon because I was never a fan of her, but I know I find Cheryl very bland and false. Although the sob stories have generally been tonned down, which is a good thing, we've still got people crying every week and the editing of this series is so slick it feels sterile.

I'm going to hang on because I never really enjoy the Boot Camp section of the show anyway, and I hope now that the Live Shows are here it might get better. But there's always been at least one contestant I've really cared about each series and this year I don't give a toss about any of them. None of them have much personality or that special something. I can't even rememebr most of their names off the top of my head and I have been watching.

It is a question of taste. I personally like quite a few of them and I am happy with the judges.
Ignoring all the fake and contrived stories, it's all good.

This is the best it's been for a while! last year there was not one memorable performance or star :sleep:

Last year was way off, this year it's back on again.

Might just be me then. It's probably the Boot Camp stage. I've always found it duller than watching paint dry and the Live Shows will be a relief.

Last year, it was a squib, this year its like back on again, I care alot about Ruth, Alex and Diana this year.

To be honest I found Bootcamp very dull this year too - but this year looks to be far better than last year.

The format is just tired and the cynicism of the producers in the manipulation of contestants is now so obvious. Most of the current crop of reality shows are well past their sell-by date just like X Factor. We're awaiting the next new format to spark things to life and for everyone to copy...

It absolutely is a question of what you like.

I am VERY underwhelmed so far this year. There are no male voices that appeal to me, the groups are standard bland fare, the over 24's are nothing special and there are too many Winehouse/Duffy knock-offs.

There is only one contestant of interest to me this year and that's unusual - there are often two or three that I like.

Still, I had my fun last year so I'm happy to leave the rest of you to it...

It was the way it was edited..... I nearly nodded off through Boot Camp.

I know exactly what you mean. This is exactly how I felt last year and I have a feeling it will be the same for me this year as so far, no-one really stands out. It probably is down to personal taste. I will give it a chance and wait and see how the love shows develop but for me, it has long since lost it's spark and I don't hold out much hope

It wasn't just that.... it lacked character doing it in a modern auditorium I think.

I think its the Judges Imogen, theres not much spark that I can see, perhaps it is the way they edit it so we dont really see much of their "spats" or its less obvious than when sharon was about. Mind you some of the Talent is mediocre at best too. Perhaps the whole things come to the end of its shelf life who knows. I dont think would really like to pin point till its all over becuase theres still time at the moment for it to pick up. Must say tho Cheryl is not really doing much for me to be honest, not being a GA fan i cant say if shes actually got any talent of her own to be able to impart advice to others I did prefer sharon and all the agro that went with her.
Still live shows comming up and this is where it gets a bit more interesting so we'll see what happens.

I've nothing against Cheryl but I found it laughable the way she was having to send home singers who could wipe the floor with her!

I can't agree at all. This is a fantastic year for talent on X Factor. I'm very much excited about the start of the live shows, which is something I couldn't say last year.

I think this year is brilliant.

I think there is so much talent this year. Usually in previous years you had two maybe three really talented people but imo there are seven brillant acts in the final twelve this year with:

Alexandra(awesome)
Rachel
Laura
Diana
Bad Lashes
Ruth
Austin(tbh he annoys me but he has a fantastic voice)


Also i've never ever in previous years wanted a contestant to win more than i do with Alexandra

Alexandra to win!!!

I agree with OCD, I think it's a particularly strong field this year with very few duds and I particularly like Alex.

I'm also loving Cheryl. I think she brings much more to the show than Sharon, Louis or Danni ever did.

Regards

Julian

It's absolutely dreadful but I think it's partly because the producers and Simon Cowell have grasped that the public like people who shout instead of sing so this favours well with that end.

While the rest of us, who prefer people who can sing struggle to find favourites.

I think Alexandera is dreadful but because of this gross admiration for shouting "singers" (misinterpreting singers that have reverb attached to their voice in the studio) and a singer who tackles popular ballads, people like her and I guess it's just because people associate her with Whitney and Mariah who the media tell the public are "great" singers but are in fact part of a generation of force feeding crooners to people.

I think the only decent singers left in the competition are Daniel, Diana (both of whom are disliked because I guess they don't shout), Rachel and Laura (liked because they've tackled popular songs. These obvious attachments we can make to the people on the show tell you why people are liked or disliked because people semantically associate them with certain songs and singers they have memorised.

Back to the point. It's not a serious competition. It's a publicity campaign. I know a professor in Manchester who is covering the media influence and media manipulation upon the public that led to Leon winning because, well it's a great tool that can be used in not only business, buy media, politics - the list goes on. It's nothing new but it's an easy way to teach students how the production can manipulate viewers into picking a winner.

So I think it's Simon's way of trying to get a massive audience for advertisement revenue. As for his chosen winner - it's probably going to be obvious after the first show...

I think theres some really good acts this year, i'm really enjoying it so far. I can barely remember who was in last years show

Ah yes how could i forget about the lovely Cheryl

Cheryls a cool mentor, much better than the other three like you said

I've not been feeling it this year. I couldn't name one of the Over 25s and I've really only liked Austin and Laura out of all those that went to the Judges Homes.

I think it's a combination of things. I don't think it's worked having Cheryl to be honest. Okay it got rid of the increasingly vile Sharon but Cheryl is as fake as her claims that she's in a happy marriage. Dannii has been cast-aside now Simon has someone else to fawn over and its more of the same from Louis. Taking them to Ireland again pretty much summed up what a waste and an absolute bore Louis has become. One thing I'll say in defense of Sharon was she managed to bring out that little tiny, miniscule bit of personality Louis has (tends to come out in gay clubs... ).

Also X Factor is now the poor relation to BGT. BGT is such a more advanced show and really should have been X Factor's successor not to sit alongside it in ITV's schedule. Of course, ITV want to keep both because XF still brings in the viewers, even though BGT is far better and far more successful (It brings in more viewers than XF in late Spring/Early Summer when it's harder to get big ratings - if BGT got the Autumn/Winter slot I'd be expecting even more viewers than it already gets).

Added to all of this XF is in it's 5th series now... we've seen it all before, I can't sit through a whole episode of auditions because we've seen it on 4 previous occasions on the XF and countless other times on the plethora of other talent shows out there. The sob stories are a joke now. When me and my friend watch it we take bets on what the sob story is, win double if you correctly guess the family member that's dead.

Of course the counter-argument to all of this is "It's getting bigger ratings than ever"... yeah, it is, doesn't mean it's actually better or not much worse.

I don't think we've actually seen enough singing so far, it's concentrated on the judges, the presenters, the sob stories, the background etc. Hopefully the live shows will be better. Also it's getting a bit old now, we've seen it all before, there's nothing new. I would have liked to see a David Cook (American Idol) type singer, and I wish they would all stop snivelling!

One of the aspects that depresses me is the lack of control we, as the public, have over the outcomes.

In past series I have often been appalled at the songs my favourites have had to sing (cue Nikitta) and I generally feel helpless in the face of manipulative editing by the producers.

After a few series of that you start to feel as if Simon is putting you down personally - and you're not even on the programme!

At the beginning of this series I had no memory of who won last year at all. I really couldn't recollect Leon even when my son said 'His name begins with L, ends with N and had two vowels in the middle and if you add another vowel it is the same as the person who won it the year before.'

I still can't remember many of the people in the final 12 apart from Same Difference and that is only because they were so appalling.

I think the bootcamp was done very poorly this year. I don't like the artists only having a piano to sing with for a start, i wanna see how musical some of these acts are, give them a band to help arrange for the 2nd day of bootcamp.

I also found the setting a bit bland. i preferred the old setting.

I've only really enjoyed the Xtra Factor so far. Its a bit more personal and has more life to it (and no flipping sob stories). Its not Dermots fault, i think the main shows have always focused more on the sob stories which bore me to death.