X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Tenth Week: The Final


Well the day is finally here.  After ten weeks of auditions, rehearsals, mishaps and controversies, we are down to the last three contestants competing to win a one-million pound recording deal, the title of X-Factor winner and, ultimately, a Christmas number one.

With Misha B finally getting the boot last week, one of either Amelia Lilly, Marcus Collins or Little Mix will be crowned X-Factor winner come Sunday evening.  Live from Wembley arena, the final also saw performances from previous X-Factor contestants Leona Lewis, One Direction and JLS and, also, X-Factor whore Michael Buble (who seems to perform every single year even though I do not know how any of his songs go).

Quite who will actually win is a difficult one to decide.  Momentum seems to be with Amelia who, after coming into the competition at a late stage, has impressed with her recent performances and has begged the question as to why she was not in the competition from the start.  Marcus, on the other hand, has consistently performed every week and, were the competition to be based on who is the most versatile contestant, should be winning this hands down.  Lastly, Little Mix have been the surprises of the show and, once the programme is all over, will surely be the most successful recording artists as there is clearly a gap in the market that they can fill.

Which all makes analysing this year's final and making predictions ever more harder.  But The Urbanite will still try!

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Ninth Week: Semi Final


With Janet 'I can only sing in one tone' Devlin being voted off last week's show, it is safe to say that there are no more weak links left on the X-Factor.  Each act remaining could potentially win, which makes this weekend's show the most interesting to date.

Of the acts Marcus seems to be the one to beat, although Little Mix have a chance of surprising everyone and being the first group to win the show.

Either way, this semi-final is going to be a nervous one for all the acts and their judges.  Not so much for Louis, who can sit back and annoy us all he wants as he has no acts left.  Expect a lot of arguing, a lot of tactical criticism and, as always, a lot of tears.

The contestants again have two songs each: one a Mo-Town classic (which by X-Factor rules means either a real motown classic, or a song by a guy called Mo, or a song made in a Town) and the second song a song of their choice, which again in X-Factor rules means a soppy ballad.

This is how the X-Factor semi-final panned out:

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Seventh Week: Movie Night


Last week's show was a vast improvement on previous weeks, yet the contestants that made it into the final two once again surprised.  Misha B is obviously the most talented artist in the show but is failing to connect with the audience, and now the more popular Amelia Lilly has returned Misha's chances of winning are slim.  Kitty was also arguably the most entertaining performer and will actually be missed as the show nears its most important period.

Make no mistake, tonight is going to be a big night for many acts.

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Sixth Week: Lady Gaga and Queen Night


Ok, there's no real need to beat around the bush this week.  X-Factor UK is in a crisis.  The past few weeks have not been great, but we only have the public to blame as good acts like Sophie Habibis and The Risk have now gone whilst idiots like Frankie stayed in.

Well, the wannabe young Russell Brand is no longer in the show having been kicked out for boasting about taking drugs.  My guess is that he probably doesn't even care and is somewhere right this moment trying to get his leg over an impressionable 17 year old girl.

But back to the music, or what is left of it.  After a few days of debating amongst themselves as to what they should do, X-Factor producers and PR men thought that they would give the "great British public" a chance to redeem themselves and vote back in one of the acts that got voted out after Week One.  This meant that Amelia Lilly (the Christina Aguilera lookalike) , Jonjo Kerr (the singing soldier), 2 Shoes (the Essex girls)  or James Michael (even I don't remember him).

Are you still with me?  I am not sure I even am, but here is the analysis and predictions from last night.

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Fifth Week: Club Classics


First things first, let's face up to the facts: X-Factor is getting poor.   Very, very poor.  Couple this with the fact that the so-called great British public can't see a great singer if it hit them in the face with a microphone (how the hell were Misha B and Sophie in the bottom two last week?) and The Urbanite's hopes for this years contest is slowly fading like Louis Walsh's hairline.

Despite this, we still cannot bring ourselves to switch over and watch Strictly Come Dancing.  Which means that we have another week's installment of our X-Factor analysis and predictions.  It was club week this week, which usually brings great tracks.  Usually.

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Fourth Week: Halloween 


It has been a tumultuous week to say the least for the UK's X-Factor. First we had the news that Kelly Rowland had had to pull out of this week's show due to "illness", which some people have translated Kelly throwing a tantrum after Tulisa attempted to bully Misha B by calling her....a bully.  This brought The Urbanite with the first bit if bad news for the week, because not only did it mean that we were deprived of Kelly's beautiful face for the night, but it also meant we had to put up with that burke, Alexandra Burke, for the whole night.

Next, that guy out of The Risk that no-one really notices decided that he didn't want to be spend the rest of his life being "that guy from The Risk that no-one really notices" - and jumped ship, leaving the other three band members stunned.  Well, The Urbanite can reveal that the X-Factor producers navigated themselves through that conundrum doing what they do best - going to another group, this time Nu Vibe, and stealing their best singer.  So now, Ashford from Nu Vibe is the newest member of The Risk.

And lastly, in other news, Rhythmix were forced to change their name to Little Mix due to a dispute with a well-established charity that goes by the same name.

All this must have caused a headache for the UK X-Factor PR team, who are already struggling with the realisation that US X-Factor is already ten times better, even though it is in its first year.

Anyway, Halloween night went ahead, and here is The Urbanite's analysis and predictions.

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Third Show: Rock Week


Week three of the live shows is rock week, which in X-Factor language means any old song remixed with a guiter riff here and a drum roll there.  It also usually means a poor song selection as X-Factor producers confirm rumours that they wouldn't know rock if it slapped them in the face.  Despite that, The Urbanite still sat through the show to give you all some analysis and predictions. So read on!

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Second Show: Love Songs


Last night's X-Factor started off with some good and bad news.  The good news was that the traditional X-Factor format was back - with the great British public having the say on who goes and who stays.  The bad news was that the theme of the night was, apparently, 'Love and Heartache', which is usually X-Factor code for wet, crappy ballads.  And the judges didn't disappoint in that regard, with the contestants singing everything from Whitney Houston to Coldplay - all was not bad though, so read on below for The Urbanite's X-Factor ratings and predictions:

X-Factor Analysis And Predictions

Your Weekend Starts Right Here!

Last night saw the return of the X-Factor live shows and, being fans of the show ever since it discovered The Voice that is Leona Lewis, The Urbanite will be bringing you a weekly analysis of the show and our predictions for who will be voted off each week.

Last night's opening show saw a small twist added to it, with the twist being that for this week only the fate of the contestants are in the hands of the judges and not the public.  Each judge will have to get rid of one of their contestants, trimming down the number of acts from 16 to 12.

Here is our analysis and predictions

The X-Factor Goes Urban?

Whether you like it or not, it’s that time of the year when you start to kiss your Saturday nights goodbye.  Or, if you are anything like some of us at The Urbanite and want to try and maintain some form of a social life, it is that time of the year when you delay heading to the pub/club for an extra half an hour just so you can catch Louis Walsh telling a washed up karaoke singer that they are “simply brilliant”. 

Yes people, it is X-Factor time.  And apart from Walsh, who we just cannot seem to get rid of, this year’s X-Factor has taken on a new look.  Gone are Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Danni Minogue and in come Gary Barlow (Take That), Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child) and Tulisa Contonstavlos (N-Dubz) as our new judges. 

Now none of us here at The Urbanite have ever actually really liked any of the ex X-Factor contestants that have graced our charts (apart from Leona Lewis, who genuinely had an amazing voice) but there is something about the programme that keeps us hooked – the tragic real life stories, the delight in seeing someone completely flop on stage in front of millions, the cheering on of the ugly fat underdog with the good voice who is never going to win (last year’s Paige being the prime example). 

We must admit, however, that this year will be the most interesting for a while – purely because of two out of the three new X-Factor judges and the direction that British pop music has taken over the past two years.  A cursory glance at the charts this year has seen acts like Wretch 32, Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah dominating record sales, with the latter being one of the first British urban acts to truly break it in America. 

Love him or hate him, but Simon Cowell is an intelligent guy and he has not only noticed this shift in the British music scene but is seeking to ensure that his SyCo record label does not fall behind the movement.  That is why he signed Labrynth, the producer behind “Pass Out”, to his record label.  It is the reason why he has praised online urban channel SBTV to the hill.  And ultimately, it is the reason why he has chosen Rowland and, more specifically, Tulisa to his X-Factor bench as judges.