I still think that it would be fairer if the act who got the least number of phone votes should go.  Last time, didn't they ask the judges who they thought would be the one to go BEFORE the phone votes came in? (or was that Pop Idol?) 

AH but this way gives the show's producers some control - IF they pubic voting figures are correct and not 'adjusted to please' either!

I knew a girl who sang in a church choir on Opportunity Knows and she said that the clappometer didn't in any way reflect the noise that the audience were producing!!

Exactly!  As I have said before, we have no way of being sure that the phone votes aren't 'rigged' have we? :)

I thought it may be rigged, because has anyone noticed that when Kate Thornton says the minute countdown to the end of voting and then says  "right the lines are closed", within 5 seconds she is handed a card with the results   surely even technology isn't that quick!!

Yes, they should employ an independent company to audit the votes :)

Well just to make you all jealous lol i was at the Live show on Saturday, shook hands with Simon and got his and Louis' autographs :) great night!

Ooooh, lucky you, is Simon as gorgous off screen as on :D

Ooh I'd love to go to the live show - how did you get the tickets??

GreatBritGirl, did you see the reported row between Simon and Louis after the show?  Or was the 'row' just media hype?

The whole show is in danger of turning into a pantomime and the judges stand to lose any shred of credibility they might still be clinging on to. Am I the only one who is finding the scripted and staged 'fighting' between judges tiresome? Rightly or wrongly, the final say should be with the voting public. After all, they'll be the ones buying the records of the winning artist. Steve wotsisname who won last year has pretty much sunk without a trace...proof, if any were needed, that the current elimination process is nonsense.

He really was pants wasn't he?!  How he won I'll never know :rolleyes:

No i didnt see any rows although they do play fight all night long even in the ad breaks. - But then i didnt really hang around afterwards

We went as Nokia VIPS - so we won the tickets, i believe they give tickets out on their website somewhere but they dont guarantee you will get in, they said to us that 75,000 people had applied for saturday night and there had been people queuing for 3 hours or more to get in

I realise that my opinion is not shared by the majority, but I really like Chico.  I'm not saying for a second that I think he can sing a note but he's the only competitor I find entertaining.  Most of the others are decent singers but IMHO the show is really nothing more than a glorified karaoke competition.  As other posters have pointed out, the only person who has pursued a successful career as a result of one of these shows is Will Young.  Almost without exception the people who compete in Pop Idol/X-Factor type shows seem to have a heartbreaking story of some sort; they had eight kids by the age of 20, they put everything into their music and were so poor they had to live in a shoe, they worked down a mine 16 hours a day just so they could buy a guitar, blah, blah.  It's ironic that Will Young didn't actually need the money in the first place!

I find the naivety displayed by the contestants quite extraordinary.  Surely they must realise that even if they were to win the show, the likelihood that resulting in any sort of career is slim, to say the least.  Don't they remember the guy from last year, or that enormous girl from Pop Idol, or the Fame Academy lot?  Maybe they don't remember these people.  Nobody else does!  I felt rather sorry for this year's lot when they visited Simon Cowell's house in Spain or somewhere.  A contestant commented that seeing that house and that lifestyle made them more determined to win as they also wanted to live that way.  I thought; "love, if you want that sort of success then become a record producer.  If it's money you're after then I don't think you're going about it in the right way."

Although I'm complaining in this post I enjoy the programme in spite of what I've said.  It's very watchable pantomime and provides perfect light entertainment.  I just get annoyed by the earnestness of the contestants and cannot believe they take it so seriously.  They make so many comments along the lines of

This means the world to me.
It's the most important thing that will ever happen in my life.
I'm so devastated about not being chosen.  I can't think of anything worse.

I can forgive the 16 year olds for saying things like that but surely the older ones should have a little more perspective.  When they were all waiting to find out who had made the final 12, they made such a performance of it.  I dread to think how they would cope if they had to wait for genuinely earthshattering news, e.g. someone they loved was battling for life or had gone missing or something equally awful.  It's only a television show after all!

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box now.  On a less serious note, those Conway Sisters have got to go!  And I don't know who their stylist is but he/she is in dire need of an eye test!

I personally think that the right 2 people we're in the bottom this week :-) I did think Phillip sang better than the last 2 weeks, but he still derserved to go :-D Chico keeps us entertained even though he can't sing.....so i think Simon made the right choice :-D

Conway Sisters = Bewitched lookalikes - they'll be doing some Irish Jigging at somepoint I reckon!!  :D

I remember seeing in a news article that they were friends with Louis Walsh before the competition though when they went through to the auditions he pretended to not know them.  There was a picture in the paper of him with his arms around them at a wedding.

I have to admit that Phillip was the worst on Saturday, but I have to confess that Chico has won me over even though he can't sing!! :)

Louis Walsh did know the Conway sisters prior to the competition. They are from Sligo...the same town that most of the Westlife boys are from and they sang at Shane's wedding, which Louis Walsh was a guest at. It was a cert that they were going to make it through to the finals. It's hardly a huge coincidence either that the song the sisters sang last week is Pondlife's new single....

In my opinion, the whole competition is rigged from the start. The record company knows who they want to win and manipulate the competition to that end. What they fail to take into consideration is that the need the general public to buy the records to keep the winner in the charts. If the public's favourite doesn't win then who is going to buy that person's CDS? You'd think they'd have learned their lesson...what is last year's 'winner' doing now??

However, I still find the show entertaining...I just find the system of voting to be a joke. Why get the public to vote at all if they can't determine who stays and goes??? Surely it wouldn't have anything to do with the millions of ££££ in revenue it generates for the TV and phone company.....????

Cynical? Moi? :D

My favourite changes nearly every week! I love Chico, he can't sing but look at The Darkness, Robbie, even the Cheeky Girls (I don't like them but someone does, else they wouldn't keep popping up every now and then!) Having said that, I don't think he deserves to win, there are other people with a real talent, which in my view means more than the entertainment value!

My absolute favourite though is Shane (or however he spells it!) He didn't do so good this week, and I agreed with (I think) Simon when he said that to sing that song you need grit in your voice, but he also went on to say that Shane was/is a good singer but it was just the wrong choice of song, I suppose it helps that he is absolutely flammin' GORRRRRRRGEOUS!!! :P I had a hard time this week trying to convince my hubbie I liked him for his voice only, whilst fanning my self and trying not to say phwoar!!! ;) :P

LOL @ Nat!!

Well he is a bit scrummy! :D

Lol at Shaynlolas *pondlife comment*  :D  :D  Spot on.  Can't stand the cheesy warblers :D

Shayne is gorgeous, but I have to say he knows it and is getting a bit cocky!!  And I think Ozzy needs to sort Shazza out, she is getting a bit excitable :D

Journey South are great, I also think Brenda has a fab voice.

Not keen on the Conway Sisters though.

I love Simon Cowell though, He is pure genius :D

Shane is gob-smackingly-gorgeous!!! :D :D :D

Journey South are fantastic and I hope they win :D - Even above Shane!

You fickle woman you    :D

LOL :D

I like Andy. I think he has a fantastic voice and he's a genuine bloke. I also like Nicolas. I think Shayne is getting too cocky, as are most of the younger ones. I agree re Bewitched/Conway sisters. I think they are very average.

I think Chanai will be out next. Chico will never win, but he is building his profile...

I think the show needs a change of format for next time....and we should know who "won" - not just who stayed in.

>I think the show needs a change of format for next time....and we should know who "won" - not just who stayed in.

Personally I think that would spoil the weeks preceding the final.  If the same act was winning each week by a large margin it would seem a forgone conclusion and take the excitement away from the final week.

I too think Chanai will go out unless the Conway sisters get it wrong.

I would vote out anyone who says "I have given up so much to be here" one more time!!  They are all after the same thing, fame and fortune.

I would like to see Shayne in the bottom two one week, it might shake the cockiness out of him.

I am supporting Andy and Brenda at the moment as I think they are the only two genuine ones in there.

I was really impressed with the young black guy this week (sorry, can't remember his name) and I think he might be a bit of a dark horse. i also rate Andy and Brenda but can't see them appealing to the majority of record-buyers.

I don't see anything special about Shane and certainly don't think he's good looking...he looks a bit, erm, simple to me and I like my men to be intelligent. Give me Bob Geldof anyday...yum! :D

> Personally I think that would spoil the weeks preceding the final.  If the same act was winning each week by a large margin it would seem a forgone conclusion and take the excitement away from the final week.

Or, it might spur more folk on to vote for their favourite.... considering 9? million watch it only 1 million voted. Spread across the acts, thats not very many folk actually picking up the phone supporting them... and even less will be buying the records after!

If they didn't charge the call at a premium rate then I might call.

8 million of us have more sense LOL ;)

8 million and 1 (me) :D :D

Chenai is after sympathy now :-( because her family live in a rough area....so she's saying she has to win to get her mother and family out of that situation.

Watching her video before she sang on Saturday night...and then watching her sing bought tears to my eye's :-)

Shane is too cocky and needs to be knocked down a peg or two...Andy's still amazing, and Brenda....but then again i also like Journey south :-D