The show that has the 'X factor'

4:19pm Friday 22nd August 2008

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By Chris Moore »

It’s back and it won’t stop until Christmas. I am talking about the television phenomenon that is “X-Factor”.

It’s the show that some people won’t admit to watching but secretly enjoy it in their private time, you know who they are.

I’ve written before that it’s great to have Saturday night telly that the whole family can enjoy, have their opinions on and watch together. Whether it’s a talent contest is another matter, a popularity contest it most certainly is. How many previous participants have gone on to anything approaching stardom aside from Leona Lewis and Shayne Ward (who sells more records worldwide than most people realise)? The jury is out on last year’s finalists – Leon and Rhydian as they seem to be biding their time.

A new judge this year in Cheryl Cole, a product of the system as it were. After just one show the waterworks started with Cheryl declaring that “she finds it hard to pass judgement on people”. Altogether now, “Hello!!!!”. If anyone should know the way these shows work it’s her. Unbelievable. Some PR person probably advised here that “some tears early doors” would set her up nicely to fill the Sharon Osborne role of loving everyone and not having an opinion about anything. Thank goodness for the boy Cowell who really is the only one of the lot who says it like it is and is absolutely bang on pretty much every time.

The moral of the show of course is that even if Auntie Doris says you have the voice of an angel, the rest of us don’t always agree.