Read the latest news and analysis of X Factor. Browse THEGAYUK’s entire archive on news about X Factor contestants and shows.
Davide, who had entered the Italian X FACTOR three years ago, said “it was hard to be” himself. The flamboyant contestant sang a remixed version of Aretha Franklin’s hit Respect.
The performance didn’t really seem to set Simon Cowell on fire, but the audience and Rita Ora lapped it up.
Deep underground, we’re thinking it’s actually Simon Cowell’s lair, Caroline Flack and Olly Murs discover the factory that is in charge of the secret formula for winning the UK’s biggest Karaoke competition, proving the countdown to Christmas is nearly here.
Nick Grimshaw, who is a “new judge from scratch” is fitted with a microchip which makes him sound like Louis Walsh, where as Cheryl has been turned into a robot, which looks very convincing.
Finally, Simon Cowell is absolutely sure he’s found the winner of this year’s competition.
Nick Grimshaw, the openly gay Radio 1 presenter looked refreshed and happy at the launch event for X FACTOR 2016.
Greeted by a throng of fans, the 50% new judging panel, which includes Rita Ora, Cheryl, Nick and Simon beamed as they took selfies and signed autographs.
Louis Walsh was dumped / or left, depending on which paper you read, earlier in the year, as the long-standing judge was swapped out for Nick Grimshaw.
The former X FACTOR star received a number of boos from the audience at Warwickshire Pride as he plugged his hair plugs after singing a short set, throwing in a sales pitch for a non-surgical face-lift to the waiting crowd.
The 58-year-old, wild-haired former PE teacher joked that the UK’s weather had knocked a “few tiles’ from his roof and that he had enlisted the help from a hair clinic to ensure that his famous long locks remained intact. He also proceeded to bring up two members of a beauty clinic who he said performed non-surgical face lifts.
Wagner wears the t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the hair clinic he claims helps him maintain his famous hair do.
One Pride-goer remarked,
“it was disgusting, he turned up performed for 20 minutes, tried to hock hair transplants and face lifts, the crowd weren’t very supportive. It felt like a live TV Ad!”
Wagner, who usually wows audience with his outrageous costumes wore a simple white t-shirt baring the name of the hair clinic, joked with the crowd and sang a line from the Pussycat Doll’s hit, Don’t You Wish Your Boyfriend Was Hot Like Me.
Louis has been a fixture on the X FACTOR for eleven years, now in an attempt to shake up the format, Simon Cowell has seemingly axed him according to the Sun On Sunday.
First it was Dermot now Louis. But is Simon Cowell really dumping the right people? Last year we revealed that the majority of viewers thought that Cheryl should be the one to be dropped from the show which has been suffering a decline in audience since its hey day in 2010. Nearly 60% of Heat magazine readers thought that the Geordie pop singer should be let go from the show.
Louis is quoted as saying that he now wants to concentrate on being a music manager again, saying:
“I want to go back to being a manager – that’s my day job and I’ve neglected it for a long time because I’m away so much.
“At the moment, I’m working with Shane Filan – he’s got a new record coming out, and I’m also working with Hometown.
“I’d like to get back to where I started off… I never even wanted to be on TV, it just happened.”
X FACTOR Johnny Robinson, 45, who won the nation’s hearts with his renditions of Hung Up and Unchained Melody and his outrageous costumes on the 2011 series of the show, has unveiled an altogether new look, complete with heavy eye makeup and massive hair. The sort even Bonnie Tyler would be proud of.
His new, high energy single is called Eaten Alive. and even stars a Michael Jackson tribute. Check out the new look and video here.
The former X FACTOR star, isn’t just famous for his singing stint on Simon Cowell’s flagship show, when he was 24, Robinson starred as Boy George on Stars In Their Eyes.
Andrea Faustini is bound to wow a national audience tonight live on the XFACTOR as he takes on the classic Whitney track, I Have Nothing.
Speaking about performing at the live shows, Andrea said, ‘I just want to sing my heart out, show everyone who I really am, and give everything I have. I think this is the greatest chance I’ve ever had in my life. I still can’t believe it right now.’
Andrea, who is the bookies’ favourite to win this year’s XFACTOR said in an interview that he felt overwhelmed when it was announced that he would be taking part in next year’s XFACTOR Tour. The tour features the finalists of the show.
Here’s what the other contestants are singing:
Girls
Lauren Platt – How Will I Know?
Groups
Only The Young – Something About The Way You Look Tonight
Stereo Kicks – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Overs
Ben Haenow – I Will Always Love You
Fleur East – I’m Every Woman
Stevi Ritchie – I’m Still Standing
Tonight’s show is the Whitney Vs. Elton John, you can watch it on ITV1 from 8:00PM
A survey of over 1,000 visitors to heatworld.com asked if Simon was to drop a female judge, it should be Cheryl, with 58 per cent saying the judges bickering is “overshadowing the acts”, and 54 per cent calling Mel B “the most honest judge”.
Speaking exclusively to heat last week, axed X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden said that he felt the contestants weren’t being treated fairly by the judges.
“Simon is the king of mind games, but it would be better to get some constructive criticism rather than just arguing among themselves. I liked Mel, because she was straight with you – she wouldn’t bulls**t you like what may happen with the others.”
Back in June, Simon said he was pinning all his hopes on Cheryl, 31, returning as the big name on the panel.
“The pressure is going to be on Cheryl this year. There’s a real buzz,” he said. “People are already talking about it and I think that’s partly because Cheryl is back. All eyes are going to be on her, but she knows that and she’s ready.”
“The X Factor is one of the toughest shows on TV to get right,” says heat’s TV editor Boyd Hilton. “The show needed more ‘characters’, like it had in 2010, when it was getting 14million viewers watching acts like 1D, Wagner and Katie Waissel. The emphasis this year has clearly been on trying to mix quality acts with big personalities. Unfortunately for those who watch the show for talent, some of those personalities aren’t great singers.”
However, the heat survey isn’t all criticism – 70 per cent said they are enjoying The X Factor more than Strictly this year. And while Strictly is scoring two million more in the ratings, The X Factor’s 7.5million viewership is still impressive. “The Saturday live shows have been very long, so the show finishes after 10pm,” says heat’s Boyd. “It’s nigh-on impossible to beat Strictly’s Saturday ratings with that scheduling. Interestingly, X Factor does better on a Sunday with the hour-long show, in which you can catch up with Saturday night anyway.”
Other statistics:
38% think Simon is the best mentor, Louis is considered the worst mentor with just 3% of votes. He’s also considered the ‘most boring’ judge.
78% think Simon’s return has improved the show.
Mel B is the meanest judge according to heat readers with 60% of votes.
47% think Andrea Faustini is set to win this year’s show with 22% saying they would buy his album.
The young Yorkshire man failed to impress the judges with his shaky rendition of Leona Lewis’s mega smash Bleeding Love.
Despite being the most popular contestant on the programme Jack failed to rack up the votes after his performance, despite his massive fan base each given 5 free votes on the X Factor App.
This year X Factor voting rules have changed, with X Factor app users given 5 free votes per elimination.
He was, however, the bookies’ favourite to be booted off the show. He is the second of Mel B’s northern lads to be kicked off after Jake Quickenden was axed last week.
X Factor continues tonight at 8:00PM on ITV 1