How many of the judges actually play there roles during the live shows? I've always found theres been alot of secrets hidden away in the closet.

do they choose the songs for there act? do they organise vocal training, styling, arrangement?

how involved are the acts themselves involved with in the same terms?

and same again for the producers.

If I remember rightly, lastyear. there were rumours thats daniel(from the over 25's category) had his song changed not long before his live performance on the saturday (to "build me up buttercup")

Have you read 'Chart Throb ' by Ben Elton?

Yes, absurd on the surface but it makes you wonder how close it actually is to the truth.

Cowell is the boss, I daresay he and he alone issues the orders to Cheryl, Dannii and that muppet Louis. Call me cynical but just a hunch, Chart Throb or no Chart Throb.

where can I read this "chart throb" or was that some kind of retorical question???? I'm so confused

It's a novel written by Ben Elton Jonners, meant to be fiction but I suspect it's very close to the truth ...lol

You should find it in any book shop of your local library.

.. and yes I agree with the Love Bear that Simon no doubt has a say in everything.

oh, that'll be why I didn't understand :-p I'm not a big reader.......if it ain't a tabloid my eyes can't see it, hehehe.

I bet Simon gets well Peeved off when the judges vote his acts out.

I would think there's a strong possibility that he even tells them which way to vote ..lol

I doubt the other judges have any choice over who they can and can't choose , which is why I always find the criticism levelled at the judges for picking the wrong people laughable.

Read it, Jonny. Trust me, I think you'll enjoy it The Louis character is spot on.

I'll try..........but I have a REALLY short attention span, I have trouble reading short stories without getting bored

I agree, I would say that they all go off to the houses for the "judges homes" round with a list of the 12 finalists ...lol

You won't get bored with this one dude! Join the library!

I do think they have a fair bit of control otherwise Sharon would have won a series or come pretty close again. But I just don't think they have as much control as we are told.

I do think that the judges genuinely get to decide who goes through, but I think they probably seek help from the producers when they're stuck between 2 people for the final place. Thats quite evident when people such as Daniel make it through instead of Susie.

The producers compile a list of songs in keeping with the particular theme and also to work with royalties issues. I'd guess that the judges do have some say (Simon and Louis could pick songs in 20 seconds given the number of covers they have selected over the years!), but everything would have to be approved by a Series/ Executive Producer.


None of them are qualified to do so. There are 2 vocal coaches appointed by the show. They used to give the impression each category had a different coach, but they have chucked that idea now.


Again, a stylist is appointed by the producers to work for all the contestants. Judges/mentors may be able to change the direction if they aren't satisfied, I'd guess, but I doubt Louis is spending his Friday afternoons in Miss Selfridge looking for new outfits for BadLashes!


Nigel Wright is the performance director. He was on Xtra Factor a few years ago being heavily praised by Simon. I think he is mainly in charge of arrangements. Again, if Simon etc knew of a specific arrangement, then they could recommend it.

It is a TV show and so no judge will be given a free reign... even Simon! By the same point, the judges have all done these things before and know how TV works, particularly Louis. They won't need a producer to hold their hands through the whole process.

With regard to Simon's role, I think people perhaps overestimate it when talking of the "hands on" issues. Syco have 7 album releases in this quarter, an entertainment DVD release, produce 3 TV shows, develop shows for broadcasters in the US and UK, have a film signed up with Paramount Studios plus Simon has an auditions tour of 7 or 8 cities in the US for American Idol as well as producing responsibilities on that.

So, hiring Cheryl Cole... yes. Deciding what song, arrangement and outfits Girlband have on Saturday night... less so. There are equivalents to Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick on X Factor (just less high profile) who run the show.

Here's backstage footage of Simon watching one of Leona's performances during her rehearsal and he talks about how they're gonna sort out the adlib section.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ir9V9ileU

I think the mentors have some say when they watch the rehearsals and change things if neccessary. Didn't Simon have to change one of Same Difference's songs last year the day before the live show or something?

that made me giggle much

Zero.

Record Execs and so forth have the most input. Everything else is for the cameras, orchestration and totally made for the show.

Like... let's get some footage of you doing this Simon or Dannii - how about a shot of you dressing up people, also we need some shots of Louis talking to his lot and then there is obviously telling the contestants being told to say the judges help them loads and loads.

What about the voting? How do we know it isn't a fix? ITV's reputation isn't exactly very good in this area....

I think OFCOM tend to that part of things. ITV can minipulate the vote by over and under representing acts during the audition process or how they perceive them in there VTs on the live. but I don't think they have the power to fix the vote....but i bet they'd love too!

Ofcom investigated the previous three series of X-Factor and concluded the winner was the correct winner in all three. A few votes were lost in some but there was never enough to make a difference to the overall result.

My brother spoke to Andy (last year's finalist) at a bus stop last year and he said that each act picked 3 songs for the week and the judges will either agree with one of their choices or give them a new song.

Yep, he changed it once during the week, then changed it again the night before.

Honestly don't bother its the biggest load of crap I have ever attempted to read. If you do don't buy it you will regret it.

The judges do have control over what songs from the list their acts sing - they also to a degree have control over the arrangement it was well publicised last year that Dannii spent alot of time researching different arrangements on You tube for her acts.
Also just prior to SF week Leon apparently requested to change one of his songs and he was told by Simon it was up to Dannii (this info came from one of Leon's friends that used to post on DS).