'Has X-factor lost it's sparkle?' -Metro article

[3rd time Lucky]

Quite a good article in Metro:http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/23/has-itvs-biggest-entertainment-beast-lost-its-x-factor-4156205/

I can only speak for myself, but Matt Cardle winning was the last series I watched regularly too -it was No Dan No Deal as far as I was concerned.

Interesting plug for Getsung.com as a new outlet for undiscovered talent too. Not sure it's going to revolutionise the industry but it's certainly a nice way of filtering out a lot of youtube content and unearthing some nice cover versions.

 

[Eric Generic]

No idea about the X-Factor, but the second winner of The Voice is flopping badly with her album, released this week. It's going to barely break 2,000 sales. And the winner before them, fared the same.

Which begs the question why such a show is given so much prominence within the media and industry, when its impact upon the music-buying public is close to nil. These shows ought to be packaged as nothing more than contrived soap-opera entertainment TV, and leave actual records and charts to the rest of us.

 

[jruk2007]

After the first winner flopped, I don't think The Voice has been given prominence for anything other than being a fairly popular Saturday night entertainment show. Nobody in the public or the media seem to care about Andrea's album and none of the other contestants have record deals yet suggesting that the industry doesn't care either.

X-Factor is not The Voice. Even the Steve Brookstein and Leon Jackson albums look like 21 when compared to either winner's album from The Voice. It has prominence because it does consistently produce at least somewhat successful acts every year, usually more than one per year. The last series of X-Factor was pretty awful in terms of the talent level and the number of viewers yet it has already spawned a number 1 album and the winner looks set to get a number 2 single this weekend.

 

[Shockbox]

The X-Factor isn't the ratings juggernaut that it used to be.

But people forget that it's been on TV for 10 years.

 

[Bobby Tables]

The show still has a fair bit of cachet, especially since there are several currently viable artists who people remember got their break from it.

It could probably do with a bit of shining up, though. My suggestion would be to ditch the overs category, which at this point is just filler. Take the upper age limit off the boys and girls categories and anyone any good who happens to be over 25 can just go in there.

 

[MistakenBiology]

They need to go back to their peak, which for me was the 2008/2009 series. The gimmicks of having various joke acts just aren't funny. It worked for Jedward because it was the first time that had really occurred, but the fact producers seem to have wanted that kind of act every series (Wagner, Rylan, and somewhat Shelley) has just become so very blatant at gaining viewers and headlines for suppose "bust ups" and "drama".

The main issue for me is that, and as an avid fan for 10 series, they judges just don't seem to have that "wow" factor, and the live shows no longer seem a spectacle like they use to - it's very apparent that the Dannii, Cheryl, Simon, Louis panel was their most universal and most glamorous panel, which is probably why those three series are defined as the X Factor's "peak".

As for the recent panel - there just doesn't seem to be any really judging. The only one who seems to bring 'something' to the panel is Nicole, and even then she seems bored this series compared to last year. Gary has been, and will remain, an absolutely dreadful decision as a replacement for Simon Cowell. Whoever believed his monotoned voice would be worthwhile needs shooting. Gary is a dreadful judge whom when can't offer anything critical has to go personal towards the judges.

Sharon, as fabulous as she is, just seems to add more 'meh' to the tired format.

ITV need to focus on what BGT has done - they have seen what panel works, and what format, and have stucked with it, and since Alesha and David have joined, have gathered much acclaim. X Factor needs Simon back. It's obvious really.

 

[LTG]

They need to go back to their peak, which for me was the 2008/2009 series. The gimmicks of having various joke acts just aren't funny. It worked for Jedward because it was the first time that had really occurred, but the fact producers seem to have wanted that kind of act every series (Wagner, Rylan, and somewhat Shelley) has just become so very blatant at gaining viewers and headlines for suppose "bust ups" and "drama".

Chico got to the quarter finals, and Same Difference were somewhat jokey.

 

[Resi12]

This show is shit now. It doesn't require articles, or paragraphs. It's no surprise why and it should be a shock to anybody.

End of.

 

[acrimonious mammoth]

They need to go back to their peak, which for me was the 2008/2009 series.

2009 was awful, though.

 

[Solenciennes]

The show chose to go down the route of making their audition process lengthier and tougher so's to give off the impression that the contestants who made the live shows were somehow better - but somewhere along the way the spectacle of the show became the production of it and not the actual contestants themselves, which somewhat defeats the point. Cheryl Cole brought star power to the program that they've been trying to emulate ever since when really they shouldn't have been trying at all. When she joined, it became about the judges (specifically the weekly style-off between Cheryl and Dannii), it became a platform for established artists to promote new material, it became an exercise in vanity for Simon, Cheryl, Dannii and Louis to speak to millions of people every single week. The level of talent went up, but it was drowned out by everything else going on around it - and when 3/4 of those judges left the show in one fell swoop, there was suddenly a void that couldn't be filled because they'd put the judges on this irreplaceable pedestal. The show was just bog standard Saturday night entertainment when Sharon was originally a part of it; but it evolved onto this whole new level when she left. She's returned to the role and cannot fill the boots. Tulisa couldn't do it, Kelly Rowland couldn't do it, Gary Barlow couldn't do it... Nicole Scherzinger is holding her own, but she's been given crap people to bounce off of. If you reintroduced Simon and Cheryl purely for the Cheryl/Nicole dynamic, it would be a glorious return to form.

 

[milosilo]

Don't you think though, we in this forum are music lovers and the general public have completely different expectations to the general public. I often watch auditions on both the voice or X Factor and think wow, and they get four no's. I always pick the person that gets voted off. I think the biggest example of this might be The Voice this year where Leah didn't win. She had an absolutely amazing voice and could have been a real world wide pop star, but the public chose the other girl, I don't even know her name. It's just Saturday night TV for most people.

 

[Solenciennes]

Don't you think though, we in this forum are music lovers and the general public have completely different expectations to the general public. I often watch auditions on both the voice or X Factor and think wow, and they get four no's. I always pick the person that gets voted off. I think the biggest example of this might be The Voice this year where Leah didn't win. She had an absolutely amazing voice and could have been a real world wide pop star, but the public chose the other girl, I don't even know her name. It's just Saturday night TV for most people.

I had a whole post typed up talking about the differences between the X Factor and The Voice and why the former is a success and the latter isn't, but I realised that all it really boils down to is this:

The X Factor has launched quite a few stars over its 10 year run. It started out as a singing competition and evolved into an entertainment competition. That's when they got it right. Leona Lewis was the culmination of the search for the voice. Everyone who has come after her, in terms of success off the back of the X Factor, has had to rely on more than just a voice to succeed. She set the bar so high that the show realigned itself in order to play in a different ball park - whether that was a conscious decision or just a coincidence, I don't know, but the reason Leon Jackson, Rhydian, Joe McElderry and others just like them failed, is because they were just singers. Alexandra Burke, JLS, Olly Murs, One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Little Mix... all these artists bring a mixture of other qualities to their performances - dancing, rapping, harmonies, whatever the case may be, they bring more...

The Voice, of course, is about finding the best voice possible, but the record buying public aren't interested in someone with just a good voice, unless it's a voice so phenomenal it can't be ignored, like Leona's - but even then, she's struggled in recent years. The X Factor is glamorous where The Voice isn't; The X Factor promotes the best all-rounders where The Voice just pushes for that person with the best voice.

Having said all of that; The X Factor's cult of personality surrounding its judges is what led to its mega-success and is now what is leading to its downfall... the judges that took it to that stratospheric level all left the show at the same time and the show has suffered enormously ever since.

 

[KAG]

(specifically the weekly style-off between Cheryl and Dannii)

I had completely forgotten about the weekly style-off between Cheryl and Dannii. I remember the fashion mags would compare and rate the outfits they'd worn over the weekend. Gosh, it seems so silly looking back. Just goes to show how invested people were back then compared to now. Let's be real, no one really cared that much for what Tulisa/Kelly or Tulisa/Nicole wore.

I think my main problem with The X Factor is that most of the contestants don't have the... X Factor. They sing adequately but they don't have that special something, which makes them stand out from the rest of the pack. It doesn't help when the song choices are boring and uninspired.

 

[Bobby Tables]

It's fair to say that a lot of the people who want to go on the show and are good enough have already been on in previous years. There isn't going to be an endless supply of talented contestants for any of these shows.

 

[Shockbox]

The problem with the show now is that they pick contestants to fill personas on the show.

Sam Bailey is this years Mary Byrne/Rowetta etc.
Abi Alton is this years Diana Vickers/Janet Devlin knock off.

And that is the problem. People are tired off this. They can't keep selling the same format to use year on year. The excitement is gone. I watch X-Factor because nothing else is on. The days of being excited to watch it are gone.

 

[popprincess]

I've just been having this series on in the background instead of actually looking forward to it. I agree with the poster who said Nicole seemed bored this year, it just feels so last year when she starts going on about balls and someone being shamazing. Gary has been boring since birth, Louis is OK and Sharon seems nice but a shit judge so all in all the panel isn't good. Plus I just don't think the talent is there this year.

 

[Solenciennes]

I haven't been watching it this year. I think the show is waning out, they'd be wise to end it this year in my opinion.

 

[Tribal Spaceman]

it doesn't help that this year's finalists are a boring bunch.

The groups category used to be wonderfully diverse and now we just get endless JLS/Little Mix/One Direction clones.

Does anybody actually give a shit about what the judges are wearing, apart from the likes of Heat magazine? So sick of who wore what taking up valuable column inches while actually interesting music acts are almost an afterthought.

 

[Hitori]

The promising contestants also get eliminated.

 

[salmonandmash]

They should go back to basics and have 4 unknown people on the panel/ industry people.