Janet Devlin

[Doug Aloud]

Whatever bile is spread around about her on the Internet, I'm still quite the Janet fan.

I think she'd make a really nice acoustic covers album. It can be quintissentially 'Janet', yet appeal to the masses. And I think it'd sell a tonne. And it's not like it would even be expensive to make!

And, failing that, I definitely want to see more of her Youtube videos. She's just not suited to the big stage and spectacle of the X Factor. There was far more charm and grace about her in her little living room than there ever was on that big horrid stage.

Love this post. You are so right. Sometimes less is so, so much more.

 

[PantoponRose]

She likes Beirut and Warpaint. I've never heard of them!!!!

Oooh, I like Warpaint, too. Check out Billie Holiday, y'all!

 

[Josh]

The problem with Janet is she is just a juvenile, pretentious 17 year old. Perhaps if she had a few more years on her she wouldn't have become so unlikeable during the live shows. I can't say I'm interested in ever hearing from her again - I'd be surprised if we do.

 

[Alphableat]

She likes Beirut and Warpaint. I've never heard of them!!!!

Wow, it's almost like you spend time on a music forum and thus know about more music than the average X Factor viewer!

Oh yes, the darlings of Popjustice right there. Fucking hell. Where do you think most people find out about music these days, borrowed minidiscs?

 

[ops]

She likes Beirut and Warpaint. I've never heard of them!!!!

Wow, it's almost like you spend time on a music forum and thus know about more music than the average X Factor viewer!

Oh yes, the darlings of Popjustice right there. Fucking hell. Where do you think most people find out about music these days, borrowed minidiscs?

I dunno, maybe the radio?? Most people who watch X Factor don't know who those bands are, full stop.

 

[Alphableat]

She likes Beirut and Warpaint. I've never heard of them!!!!

Wow, it's almost like you spend time on a music forum and thus know about more music than the average X Factor viewer!

Oh yes, the darlings of Popjustice right there. Fucking hell. Where do you think most people find out about music these days, borrowed minidiscs?

I dunno, maybe the radio?? Most people who watch X Factor don't know who those bands are, full stop.

Most people who watch the X Factor probably don't know who Mini Viva were, or who Inna is, or who Emeli Sandé is. Doesn't make them 'kooky' or 'weird' tastes to have in music. It's frustratingly pretentious.

That said, I think a majority of music information is found online rather than on the radio these days.

 

[ops]

"Erm, God, I hate thinking of artists off the top of my head in case I forget one. I'd say Warpaint, City and Color, Beirut, Wild Beasts, there's this Italian band that are amazing. Things that people probably haven't heard of."

Can you tell me where she called liking these bands weird or kooky? All I see here is that most people probably haven't heard of them, which is pretty much true.

That said, I think a majority of music information is found online rather than on the radio these days.

I think you're overestimating how much X Factor viewers care about finding new music and info about music. But whatever.

 

[Alphableat]

The point about her music taste being 'odd' was properly laboured in her VT. And I think you're somewhat overestimating X Factor viewers as musical dimwits. I know plenty of people who watch the X Factor and know just fine who Warpaint are.

 

[ops]

I never said that people who watched X Factor couldn't know who they were. Presumably most of the viewers you know are university age or thereabouts - there's quite a lot of viewers, though, that are much younger or much older, and those kinds have a much lesser chance of knowing who they are. Obviously at this point we're just speculating though.

 

[Mikal]

Surely the more worrying thing about that article is an "anti-drugs" charity condemning a song that is anti-drugs, and barely alludes to it at that (in a verse she didn't actually sing). How irresponsible of them, seriously.

These fucking charities are always on the lookout for something to complain about because it's easy PR for them.

I hate the attitude of some posters on here towards charities. Without these "fucking charities", as you call them, a lot of recovering addicts would receive no support whatsoever. A lot of people who work for these charities have a zero tolerance approach to anything about drugs even songs about recovering from them because they worry the right message doesn't come across.

You might disagree with their opinion but until you get off your ass and give up your time like they do, you have no right criticise them in that way. I don't see how anyone can complain about a charity taking an opportunity to get some free PR for its cause. It's not like anyone is personally gaining from it and they would be stupid not to take advantage.

Oh pipe down, I've done charity work for British Heart Foundation so I'm well aware of the good that charities do thank you very much. The fact that they do good work though shouldn't mean they go around bitching about things like the singing of a classic song which happens to mention drugs in its lyrics. Don't they have better things to be doing with their time? What on earth can they hope to achieve from that? Maybe they should pool their resources into educating people properly on the reality of drug-taking rather than trying to eradicate any mention of it anywhere in the media and pretend like it doesn't exist because that approach is helpful to nobody.

 

[Mikal]

By the way 'there's this Italian band that are amazing' is a great quote because frankly who's going to question it? And it can be adapted to fit any conversation.

'What's your favourite tea?'
'Well, I'm partial to a mug of Twinings but there's this really great Italian tea that nobody in the UK knows about except ME.'
'Ooh, you're so cultured!'

 

[Hitori]

According to RKA Records, they have offered Janet Devlin recording deal but nothing is final yet.

Another article from MusicNews.com: Janet Devlin offered Dragons' Den record deal.

 

[Hudvar]

I only watched the weekend's shows yesterday - I cringed when she forgot her words (she really didn't seem to be into Mmmbop anyway) - and fast-forwarded through about 75% of her second number.

I maintain she's phenomenally pretty but she's essentially Diana Vickers Mk II. In fact I half expected her to pull off her mask, Scooby Doo style and say she would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for those daaaaamn judges.

 

[mump boy]

I usually hate it when people like Matt Cardle complain about the X Factor. But Janet was everyone's favourite and turned into a spectacular figure of hatred over the live shows. The producers fucked her badly and I feel she has every right to be annoyed/angry.

How did the producers 'fuck' her ??

Early spots in the running order and completely unsympathetic VTs, the effects of which are inarguable. The judges' comments were possibly a bit more negative than they should have been but that's obviously down to personal opinion.

This isn't to say that she necessarily deserved better treatment - the producers were certainly instrumental in building her up in the first place and the word-forgetting was a bit much (though there are rumours that they changed the arrangements on her...).

She was obviously the producers favourite going into the live shows, had nothing but positive coverage and press attention and it only changed when she showed that she had nothing but disdain for the whole process. Are they supposed to continue with the positivity when despises everything about them ??

Of course it's all in the editing but if you're going to be rude to stylists, choreographers and say you hate Xmas then you have no one but yourself to blame. People have been thrown under a bus for doing nothing in this show, i don't think Janet has anything to complain about.

What did she expect ? to come on and sing her own, unedited compositions each week ? She was very eager to use the process to her own ends, gaining as much fame and attention as possible but totally unwilling to join in or be gracious about having to do things that she wasn't 100% comfortable with, It's totally, selfish and hypocritical. She won't go far in life if she thinks the world revolves around her and her juvenile, teenage pretensions.

 

[Hyp-no-tize]

I usually hate it when people like Matt Cardle complain about the X Factor. But Janet was everyone's favourite and turned into a spectacular figure of hatred over the live shows. The producers fucked her badly and I feel she has every right to be annoyed/angry.

How did the producers 'fuck' her ??

Early spots in the running order and completely unsympathetic VTs, the effects of which are inarguable. The judges' comments were possibly a bit more negative than they should have been but that's obviously down to personal opinion.

This isn't to say that she necessarily deserved better treatment - the producers were certainly instrumental in building her up in the first place and the word-forgetting was a bit much (though there are rumours that they changed the arrangements on her...).

She was obviously the producers favourite going into the live shows, had nothing but positive coverage and press attention and it only changed when she showed that she had nothing but disdain for the whole process. Are they supposed to continue with the positivity when despises everything about them ??

Of course it's all in the editing but if you're going to be rude to stylists, choreographers and say you hate Xmas then you have no one but yourself to blame. People have been thrown under a bus for doing nothing in this show, i don't think Janet has anything to complain about.

What did she expect ? to come on and sing her own, unedited compositions each week ? She was very eager to use the process to her own ends, gaining as much fame and attention as possible but totally unwilling to join in or be gracious about having to do things that she wasn't 100% comfortable with, It's totally, selfish and hypocritical. She won't go far in life if she thinks the world revolves around her and her juvenile, teenage pretensions.

The Christmas quote in her VT was quite telling. I'm sure every contestant has said something in their VTs that has made them look unfavourable and it was either edited out or a producer pointed this out to them and asked them to re-phrase it. The fact they left it showed they wanted her out for whatever reason.

It's obviously a good thing she's gone as she clearly wasn't happy but I have a lot of sympathy for anyone, especially a teenage girl who goes in for the X-Factor only to find out it is nothing like she imagined. It's a show for conformists and there's nothing wrong with someone like Janet who marches to the beat of her own drum. Away from the X-Factor, it's a trait that will probably help her survive in the music business.

 

[Hitori]

I liked her when she said in an Xtra Factor video, "Today I'm making tea for everyone, even though I hate it." She's cute and real.

 

[eddy2375]

It's obviously a good thing she's gone as she clearly wasn't happy but I have a lot of sympathy for anyone, especially a teenage girl who goes in for the X-Factor only to find out it is nothing like she imagined. It's a show for conformists and there's nothing wrong with someone like Janet who marches to the beat of her own drum. Away from the X-Factor, it's a trait that will probably help her survive in the music business.

The music industry is just like any other industry - you need to learn to compromise. At the beginning of your career, it's wasted effort trying to wrestle control from experienced and hardworking choreographers, stylists, make-up artists, PRs etc. who are just trying to do their jobs.

The other problem is that the quirky singer-songwriter type has been done a million times before, and better. I accept that The X Factor probably wasn't the best platform for her to showcase her "talent" but she's not even that remarkable a performer on her own terms. Janet's YouTube cover of Regina Spektor's "Us" (from before she went on the show) is awful, what's more her other cover choices are remarkably pedestrian for a supposed "non-conformist" - Biffy Clyro, Eliza Doolittle, Cee-Lo Green etc.

She can call the show "karaoke" all she wants but she'd already laid her cards on the table from the moment she auditioned with the inescapable "Your Song".

 

[Bobby Tables]

She can call the show "karaoke" all she wants but she'd already laid her cards on the table from the moment she auditioned with the inescapable "Your Song".

Not her own interpretation either - it was a pretty straight copy of Ellie Goulding's version. A cover of a cover.

 

[ops]

She was obviously the producers favourite going into the live shows, had nothing but positive coverage and press attention and it only changed when she showed that she had nothing but disdain for the whole process. Are they supposed to continue with the positivity when despises everything about them ??

Of course it's all in the editing but if you're going to be rude to stylists, choreographers and say you hate Xmas then you have no one but yourself to blame. People have been thrown under a bus for doing nothing in this show, i don't think Janet has anything to complain about.

What did she expect ? to come on and sing her own, unedited compositions each week ? She was very eager to use the process to her own ends, gaining as much fame and attention as possible but totally unwilling to join in or be gracious about having to do things that she wasn't 100% comfortable with, It's totally, selfish and hypocritical. She won't go far in life if she thinks the world revolves around her and her juvenile, teenage pretensions.

This isn't to say that she necessarily deserved better treatment

She played her game, they played theirs. Theirs has always involved fucking over contestants they don't want to get further. I don't see any problem with "using the process to her own ends" when that's what every contestant does and what the production team does as well.

 

[Hyp-no-tize]

It's obviously a good thing she's gone as she clearly wasn't happy but I have a lot of sympathy for anyone, especially a teenage girl who goes in for the X-Factor only to find out it is nothing like she imagined. It's a show for conformists and there's nothing wrong with someone like Janet who marches to the beat of her own drum. Away from the X-Factor, it's a trait that will probably help her survive in the music business.

The music industry is just like any other industry - you need to learn to compromise. At the beginning of your career, it's wasted effort trying to wrestle control from experienced and hardworking choreographers, stylists, make-up artists, PRs etc. who are just trying to do their jobs.

I have yet to see any of these experienced and hardworking stylists this year. All the contestants look like they have been styled by blind chimpanzees on acid and most of them looked better at the auditions when they were styling themselves. The PR is only for the show's benefit and they view the contestants as nothing more than commodities to be used in any way they see fit. Once the X-Factor PR machine is through with them, the contestants should consider themselves lucky if they can walk down the street without being stoned.

To her credit, Janet was smart enough to figure that out and at least she stood up for herself which I admire.