X FACTOR 2013

I've picked up the show late. "Your Saturday night starts right here" rasps Dermot 0' Leary in his Armani suit and Ben Sherman brown brogues and might well utter an aside "You sad people" as we await transfixed for the Four to come through the doors as Dermot told us "linked like some terrible double date". Mrs. O burped "abstain" as she slumped to one side: the next week she was begging Louis Walsh to save her act in yet another embarrassing episode where nobody seems to bat an eyelid as we're all too preoccupied with work the next day. A bleached blonde warbled her way to survival as another teen ran screaming from the stage,her life dreams in tatters. This is the raison d'être of this brutal show.

As far as the betting is concerned it might all be done and dusted with Tamera Foster the outstanding favourite in a field which is of better quality than previous years. You can judge for yourself here but in my opinion she's the one to beat.

Second favourite and not to be discounted is Leicester's mother-of -two Sam Bailey who has the vocals if not quite the model figure.

Third finalist should be Wishaw's Nicholas McDonald,though he needs a wardrobe change.

I can't really see anyone else threatening the top three places. Sam Callahan and Luke Friend should be voted off before Nick. The groups Kingsland Road and Rough Copy are nothing special,which is not to say they will not achieve commercial success. Abbi Alton may be a dark horse who grows on the public over the weeks and all credit to her for playing an instrument which is the angle she should stick with. Miss Dynamix and Hannah are my tip to be in the bottom two on Sunday night with Miss Dynamix leaving the competition.

The group Miss Dynamix is out with Hannah surviving to fight another day.

Loser in the flash vote tomorrow should be between Abbi,Hannah and Sam Callaghan. Unless Abbi pulls out something special I would expect her to leave the show on Sunday night.

"Abbi your dreams have been shattered and your life lies in ruins. How do you feel.."

It's down to the last seven acts as Simon Cowell realizes his transatlantic mistake and comes home to yet another multimillion pound deal with an ITV desperate to outperform BBC's Strictly next year. He may team up with Mrs. O again who still manages to exude a style and charisma with a touch of Elsie Tanner,even when she discusses canine excrement left on the back seat of her Mini. It looks like a two-horse race to me with Sam Bailey clinging onto a lead,though the teenage audience might still start voting for Tamera again if she can get back to her roots and ditch the false image the top heavy production team at X-Factor managed to create for her.http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/nov/15/simon-cowell-x-factor-britains-got-talent-deal

There's nobody terrible left in the competition which is of a higher calibre than recent years. Last night Sam Bailey kept her nose in front,though at times looking podgy in one of Sharon Osborne's borrowed frocks. Hannah Barrett is running out of time and excuses as she fails to connect with the British public. Luke Friend struggled with Elton John's "Your Song" clad in a pyjama top and slippers,whilst Rough Copy spoilt a sweet song by jigging about when they could have been sitting on bar stools. Sam Callahan strove to play guitar with only Gary Barlow honest enough to let him know he's not going to win,whilst Tamera Foster did her old trick of missing the lyrics midway through a song which didn't suit her. Scotland's Nicholas McDonald ended the show,he's a natural performer who works the camera at 16 years old and a real threat in the competition as Christmas approaches.

It's make or break week for Tamera Foster to cement herself back into the British public's consciousness before Sam Bailey steals the hearts of viewers.http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/19/optim...laces-11000-bet-on-sam-bailey-to-win-4192785/

Hannah has gone,with Rough Copy in the sing-off.

St.Andrew's Day surely found Scotland's Nicholas McDonald moving into the final three with his rendition of Bruno Mars' Just The Way You are showing him to be the best male vocalist left in the contest. Joining him should be another likeable contestant ex prison warder Sam Bailey,though I doubt she will ever set foot in a prison again. Does what goes on behind the scenes really matter as alleged school bully,boyfriend-stealer and smackhead Tamera Foster looks likely to join them,or is it that we're just more willing to forgive and vote for a pretty 16 year-old than say the fat middle-aged Irishwoman Mary Byrne who had the best voice in the competition a few years back? Rough Copy have finally sung a straight song whilst engaging the camera(take a lesson from Nicholas here guys),but I'd like to have seen some smart suits in evidence instead of the skirts and Primark's best look which is wearing a bit thin,which also goes for Luke Friend who is better heard than seen,and should be in the sing-off tonight with them,though neither will make the final in my opinion,which is not to say they will not achieve commercial success in the coming years.

Sam Bailey has extended her lead after her rendition of Candle in the Wind tonight,with Wishaw's Nick McDonald in tears and facing a possible sing off tomorrow night. Croydon's Rough Copy managed to sit still on bar stools for more than ten seconds singing their version of Destiny's Child I'm a Survivior, and there was something decent in the way Luke Friend looked tonight as he finally wore a red jacket.

As we move to the Final I think the judges should pay a £1000 fine to the Philippines Appeal every time they come out with one of the following expressions:

1) You're amazing..you should be in the Final.
2) You get better week by week..
3) You tick every box..
4) You know what..you nailed it..
5) People didn't pick up the phone because they thought you were safe..

Steve,

Do you have any betting tips re this competition?


Have you/do you bet on this yourself?

I would have bet on Tamera Foster for outright victory,but looking back all the signs were there that she wouldn't win(forgetting lines during the audition,the image change which confused her,then the flood of nasty stories which turned off the teenage girl voters in droves). Given that it is a young audience I'm a bit surprised Sam Bailey is so far ahead but I wouldn't bet against her now,with Nick and Luke in second and third,but the time to get good odds has long since passed I fear.

Luke Friend has survived another sing off,this time sending Rough Copy home.

He grows on you,but after 10 gruelling weeks they're all losing their voices.

They have reverted to deadlock and that's maybe fairer than the flash vote system used in earlier rounds. You take this series for what it is: a piece of drama which affords some youngsters a platform to achieve stardom and maybe damages others. The best may not wish to participate at all but there is some correlation between the talent of the final 10 acts and the position which ultimately befalls them whether through the judges' or the public's votes.

Scotland's Nicholas McDonald has hidden health concerns claims Irish judge Louis Walsh.http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/14/the-x...d-die-during-final-fears-louis-walsh-4230478/

Sam Bailey won't make it professionally unless she wins tonight,claims Sharon Osborne.http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/14/the-x...unless-she-wins-says-sharon-osbourne-4230448/

Luke Friend's secret weapon is Twitter,the Daily Mirror tells us:http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/x-factor-final-stats-reveal-2923925

We won't know the result tonight anyway,because foolishly they're spreading the show over two nights.

Sam Bailey 2/9 Nicholas McDonald 13/2 Luke Friend 14/1